FABRICATING THE WORLD | COPTIC TEXTILES AND FLATWEAVES OF THE EAST with Susan Scollay

Wednesday 17 Apr 2019, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

One of the most fascinating groups of ancient textiles available for study by modern-day scholars, are the tapestry-woven fragments of the Coptic Period in Egypt, from the late-3rd to the mid-7th centuries. This era – after the Pharoahs and before the Muslim rulers – saw an explosion of figurative designs and portraits, characterised by the intense gaze and large eyes of those represented.

At the same time, non-Christian weavers in Egypt were linked to their Mediterranean and near-Eastern neighbours in their production of colourful and highly decorative flat-woven covers and rugs.

DR SUSAN SCOLLAY is an independent art historian specialising in Islamic art and culture and in historic textiles. She is a contributing editor to HALI, the prestigious, London-based journal of carpet, textile and Islamic art, and is a fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain.

Susan has lectured at The Johnston Collection since 2008 and in 2010 was guest curator of FLUID BORDERS: Ways of Seeing Oriental Rugs.

detail: Coptic Textile, 6th century AD, Egypt, Google Art Project, Wikimedia Common 

SOLD OUT This event is currently at capacity. If you wish to be added to the waitlist, please email visitorservices@johnstoncollection.org or call The Johnston Collection on (03) 9416 2515 and we will contact you if places become available.