Letter in Arabic Concerning Trade along the Nile
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Letters, receipts, and other documents written on papyri and ostraka (broken pots and stone fragments) that survive from Egypt provide a vivid picture of commercial activities in the Byzantine and early Islamic era. Together with coins, they prove that trade continued as political authority over the region was transformed.
A landholder from the Fayyum writes to the manager of his estate about an ongoing business trip and provides instructions for the continued maintenance of his lands. Although it is not clear what the landholder was selling, the letter is evidence of bustling commerce throughout the Islamic state, particularly along the Nile.
A landholder from the Fayyum writes to the manager of his estate about an ongoing business trip and provides instructions for the continued maintenance of his lands. Although it is not clear what the landholder was selling, the letter is evidence of bustling commerce throughout the Islamic state, particularly along the Nile.
Artwork Details
- Title: Letter in Arabic Concerning Trade along the Nile
- Date: 735
- Geography: Made in Egypt, sent from Alexandria
- Medium: Black ink on papyrus
- Dimensions: 13 13/16 x 10 in. (35.1 x 25.4 cm)
- Classification: Papyrus
- Credit Line: Papyrus Collection, University of Michigan Library, Ann Arbor (P.Mich.inv. 5614)
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters