Tunic Fragment

Indigo has been used in Egyptian textiles since the age of the pharaohs, thousands of years before the common era. This textile fragment, however, comes from the Coptic (Christian) era in Egypt. Christianity is said to have been brought to Egypt by Mark, an apostle of Jesus, around 50 CE. Woven tunics from this period are made of linen and wool, dyed with indigo and other natural dyes. In this Coptic fragment, indigo has been mixed with murex (a purple dye derived from crushed sea snails), and the resulting color is a purplish brown. Coptic-era, indigo-dyed cloths were also an indication of mourning, and indigo was smeared on the faces of mourners and on the walls of their homes.