Cotsen Textile Traces Talk: From Deir el-Medina to D.C., The Complex Life of an Egyptian Textile Fragment

In this talk, Hannah Faberman and Elise Friedland introduce the exciting research behind a new micro exhibition, “The Missing Piece.” Presented by our Cotsen Textile Traces Study Center, the micro exhibition features a small painted textile fragment from the collection (T-2920), along with the story of how student research uncovered its hidden origins.  
 

Multiple experts were suspicious of the fragment’s authenticity due to its lack of provenance and had declined to study it. Through her undergraduate research project at GW, Hannah Faberman has demonstrated that the fragment constitutes a missing portion of a Roman-period Egyptian funerary shroud excavated from Thebes and held today in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum (accession number 75.114). In addition to definitively placing the fragment in its accurate ancient context and demonstrating the importance of provenance research, the project exemplifies the benefits of collaboration between university academics and museum professionals, as well as the role of university museums in undergraduate education.

About the Speakers 

Hannah Faberman will receive a B.A. in Classical and Ancient Near Eastern studies from GW in May 2026. She conducted research on textile fragment T-2920 from 2024 to 2026, receiving funding in 2025 from a Luther Rice Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Faberman is passionate about the ancient world and plans to pursue graduate study in Assyriology.

Elise A. Friedland is associate professor of Classics and art history and coordinator of the program in Classical and Ancient Near Eastern studies at GW. An expert in marble sculpture in the Roman Near East and in echoes of Greek and Roman art and architecture in Washington, D.C., Friedland collaborates frequently with the museum to provide unique opportunities for her undergraduate students.