The ''Suaire de Saint-Josse'', the "Shroud of

Saint Josse Saint Judoc, otherwise known as Jodoc, Joyce or Josse ( la, Iudocus; traditionally 600 – 668 AD)Alban Butler, (Michael Walsh, ed.) ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (1991) ''s.v.'' "December 13: St Judoc, or Josse (AD 688)". was a seventh-c ...

" that is now conserved in the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, is a rich silk

samite Samite was a luxurious and heavy silk fabric worn in the Middle Ages, of a twill-type weave, often including gold or silver thread. The word was derived from Old French ''samit'', from medieval Latin ''samitum, examitum'' deriving from the Byzant ...

saddle cloth that was woven in northeastern Iran, some time before 961 C.E., when Abu Mansur Bakhtegin, the "camel-prince" for whom it was woven, was beheaded. It was brought back from the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

by Étienne de Blois and dedicated as a votive gift at the Abbey of Saint-Josse, near

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

, Pas-de-Calais. It has been described as "the major landmark in early Islamic silk weaving". This fragmentary textile with elephants woven into the design is the only known surviving example of a silk textile produced in Eastern Iran, in the royal workshops of the

Samanid dynasty The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...

, probably at either

Merv Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...

or Nishapur. The primary decoration on the survivng fragments consists of a pair of confronted elephants within a rectangular border filled with geometric designs. Below the feet of each elephant is another creature, perhaps a dragon. Bands of marching

bactrian camels The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped drome ...

surround the central field, with a cock set in each corner, and below the confronted elephants is an inscription. The inscription reads, "glory and prosperity to the commander, Abu Mansur Bakhtikin, may God prolong his existence". The "prince" referred to in the woven

Kufic Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...

inscription, though decipherable in more than one way, most likely refers to the general and

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Bukhtegin, active in the service of 'Abd al-Malik I, the Samanid sultan of Khorasan, 954-61 C.E. The cloth is now in two fragments, which are regarded as comprising about half of the original piece. They are 52 x 94 cm and 24.5 x 62 cm respectively, the first measurement being the length. The weaving method utilized in the Shroud of Saint Josse is the samite technique, which is structured with six threads, which had developed in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in the first centuries C.E. The

warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

is red and the

weft Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is dra ...

is composed of seven colors: plum, yellow, ivory, sky blue, light brown, copper and golden brown, although the last three have faded over the centuries to a light brown or beige. Like many trophies of foreign adventure, both in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and in more modern times, in its new context, the rare textile was given new meaning, for it was used to wrap the bones of

when he was reinterred in 1134. It is unclear how the textile was originally used. The Abbey of Saint-Josse was closed in 1772, and the buildings were sold and demolished after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, in 1791. No trace is left of the monumental buildings. The ''suaire'' was acquired by the Louvre in 1922.Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts de l'Islam, "Suaire de Saint-Josse"
/ref>

Notes

References

*Exhibited as no. 4 in Jones, Dalu & Michell, George, (eds); ''The Arts of Islam'', p. 74, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1976, {{ISBN, 0-7287-0081-6 Figured fabrics Christian relics Islamic art Islamic art of the Louvre Votive offering