The Coptic Tapestry Albums and the Archaeologist of Antinoe, Albert Gayet

Vibrant tapestries of be-ribboned birds, cantering centaurs and Dionysian dancers, woven in Coptic Egypt more than a thousand years ago, were artfully arranged in a pair of handsome albums in 1913. Nancy Hopkins deftly interweaves the creation of the textiles in the Greco-Roman city of Antinoe with their discovery by the charismatic French archaeologist Albert Gayet (1856-1916). Gayet staged stunning exhibitions of the pieces in Paris at the turn of the century and ultimately gave them to museums or sold them. One collector, Henry Bryon, had his 144 fabrics bound into the two albums featured here. The album pages and covers are illustrated in glowing colour, along with archival photographs from Gayet’s expeditions. The style, structure and iconography of each tapestry, tabby and tablet-woven textile are discussed with the cultural construct of Late Antique and Early Christian Egypt. Detailed technical drawings illustrate the special weaving techniques of the Copts. Directions for six weaving projects inspired by the album fragments are included.