The Metropolitan Museum of Art Scarves & Wraps*Coptic Horsemen Silk Neckerchief

An Art Scarf Inspired By The Met Collection.

This Striking Pattern Evokes A 5Th-Century Fragment Of A Curtain Panel In The Met’S Islamic Art Collection. Attributed To Egypt, The Museum’S Coptic (Christian Egyptian) Treasure Unites Various Cultural Motifs: Wide-Eyed Hunters On Horseback Beneath Roman Arcades Suggest Wealth, Power, And Well-Being; Baskets Heaped With Fruits And Flowers (Symbols Of Prosperity) Are Notably Similar To Those Painted On The Walls Of Umayyad Desert Palaces In Syria; And Roundels Contain Images Of Christian Angels. Such Early Coptic Textiles Survive Thanks To The Dry Climate In Which They Were Made And The Enduring Practice Of Burying The Dead In Garments Sometimes Shrouded In Large Cloth Wrappings.

We Present This Stylish Accessory In Celebration Of Africa & Byzantium, Which Sheds New Light On The Staggering Artistic Achievements Of Medieval Africa Through A Range Of Masterworks, From Mosaic, Sculpture, Pottery, And Metalwork To Luxury Objects, Paintings, And Religious Manuscripts. This Exhibition, On View At The Met Fifth Avenue From November 19, 2023, Through March 4, 2024, Examines The Profound Artistic Contributions Of North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, And Other Powerful African Kingdoms Whose Pivotal Interactions With Byzantium Had A Lasting Impact On The Mediterranean World.