Funerary Stela with Boy Standing in a Niche
1 of 15
Object Label
The most common image of the deceased in pagan burials was a figure of a boy standing or seated in a niche. The seated boy here holds a dove and a bunch of grapes. These objects may also have been held by the standing figure, but his hands and especially his head have been recut and repainted in modern times. That is why those features appear to be in perfect condition, in contrast to the partially preserved color on his red robe.
Caption
Coptic. Funerary Stela with Boy Standing in a Niche, 4th–5th century C.E.. Limestone, ancient and modern paint in ochre, dark terracotta, brown, black and flesh-tone, 27 9/16 x 9 5/8 x 6 1/2 in. (70 x 24.5 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.129. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Culture
Title
Funerary Stela with Boy Standing in a Niche
Date
4th–5th century C.E.
Period
Late Antique Period
Geography
Reportedly from: El Behnasa (Oxyrhynchus), Egypt
Medium
Limestone, ancient and modern paint in ochre, dark terracotta, brown, black and flesh-tone
Classification
Dimensions
27 9/16 x 9 5/8 x 6 1/2 in. (70 x 24.5 x 16.5 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
58.129
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at