Double-Sided Relief from a Church Chancel
Double-Sided Relief from a Church Chancel
Place of OriginItaly
Date1st century CE and 9th century CE
Dimensions9 3/4 × 20 × 3 in. (24.8 × 50.8 × 7.6 cm)
Mediummarble
ClassificationArchitectural Elements
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number
1921.67
Not on View
DescriptionChancel fragment with guilloche and peacock on one side, and an earlier (Roman?) vegetal scroll on the other.
Label TextThese marble reliefs were both probably carved in Italy, but in different centuries. They likely were used as architectural sculpture. The rectangular relief with an interlaced ribbon ornament at the top shows a bird, perhaps a peacock, pecking at scrolling vines. The stone is also carved on the reverse with an ornate acanthus vine encircling a large flower, which is possibly ancient Roman (see image). The stone carver apparently reused marble salvaged from an antique building and repurposed it for a new, now unknown, medieval context. The relief with a vine enclosing mythological beasts is probably from a century or two later.
mid-12th and early 13th century
Membership
Become a TMA member today
Support TMA
Help support the TMA mission