Attribute copy -> XSL 1.1

Hello List,

I've a node, and want to copy all attributes stored in an variable into the
node.
<fo:table-cell border-left="{$ATBLayout/Border}" >       
  <xsl:copy-of select="$flowAttributes/@*"/>
...
</fo:table-cell>

But once I start the saxon processor, I get a errormessage saying:
"Cannot write an attribute node when no element start tag is open"

How can I copy the attributes into the node?

Thank you!

Jan