Coptic Boxers?

I love the strong graphic depictions of characters on Coptic tapestries - but it was only yesterday while I had a tea-break and picked up some of my Coptic Weaving books that I was hit by the similarity between some of the characters and those little beings we call boxers that parade across band samplers.

Here you can see some of those early figures with their very stylized outlines and below some examples of boxers from the samplers of the 17th century. Though many girls chose to clothe their boxers in colourful outfits, many remain as simple graphic outlines.

If you are looking for a comprehensive and reasonable (25 pence !) source of information on Coptic Weaving, I do recommend this very accessible book from Merseyside Museums - it has some excellent illustrations and very clear instructions if you would like to try some Coptic weaving yourself.