It is very rare to find pieces of cotton fabric in Palmyra; they represent only three percent of all the textiles identified so far. In later periods, cotton was grown widely throughout Syria, but during the Roman period it was imported from India. The intricately patterned colors of this piece are evidence that advanced cloth-making techniques were used to produce it. The cloth was dyed with indigo (blue), extracted from the leaves of the indigo plant, and madder (red), obtained from the roots of the plant of the same name. Both these plants grow in India. This fragment of cloth thus testifies to Palmyra's commercial relations with India.
Provenance: ancient Palmyra (Tombs 71-73, 97).
Substance: cotton.
Dimensions: 31 x 41 cm.
Era: 100 CE.
Text: Michel Fortin (p. 306, translated by Jane Macaulay).
Photo: Jacques Lessard.
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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