Hestia carpet
The Hestia carpet is a Byzantine picture knitting . It originated in Egypt in the 6th century and is in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection in Washington, DC
The Hestia carpet has a size of 1.10 m × 1.35 m. A legend describes the representation as "Hestia als Gnadendenderin" , Greek "Hestia Polyolbos" (Hestia full of graces) .
The tapestry is symmetrical, the positions and outlines of animals, flowers and people on one side are mirrored on the other side. In the center of the picture, Hestia , the Greek goddess of the hearth , sits on a throne chair . The goddess is richly dressed and wears a jeweled necklace and earrings. The six naked boys, three of whom each surround the Hestia Polyolbos on the left and right, are holding signs with their names in their hands. They are personifications of wealth " Plutos ", happiness " Euphrosyne ", blessings " Eulogia ", abundance " Euochia ", virtue " Arete " and progress " Prokope ". Two female figures on the edges of the picture are not named.
The book Documents of Dying Paganism by Paul Friedlander , published in 1945, dealt with the symbolism and history of image weaving.
literature
- Paul Friedlander: Documents of Dying Paganism. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles 1945.