A multicoloured fragment of a Coptic Byzantine Tunic Clavus with Nereids (Sea-Nymphs) holding bowls with fruit over a blue background with wave-crest borders.

Preserved in underground tombs by Egypt’s dry climate, textiles like this were produced by Copts (Christian Egyptians) and other weavers throughout the Byzantine Empire (330-1450s). It could be said that the designs and motifs of Coptic and Byzantine textiles influenced the visual repertoire of the early Islamic period.

With the increasing demand for such ancient textiles in the late 19th-20th century, antiquity dealers often cut out decorated areas of cloth to create fragments that could be sold individually, which was a more profitable practice. Once making it to Europe and the Americas, these textiles inspired the Impressionist and Fauvist art movements. A known collector of these textiles was the famous artist Henri Matisse.