Garment Decoration with Branch of a Tree and Two Birds

Description Foliate patterns frequently appear in early Byzantine textiles as allusions to growth and prosperity or as decoration. Sometimes they are accompanied by birds, as illustrated in this fragment, and are intended as celebrations of nature.

Exhibitions

• Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. 2001-2002.
• Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. 2002-2005.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters