Coptic. <em>Plant Scroll Enclosing Birds and Grapes</em>, 5th–6th century C.E. Limestone, 8 11/16 x 20 3/4 x 2 3/8 in. (22 x 52.7 x 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.27. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.226.27_PS1.jpg)

Coptic. Plant Scroll Enclosing Birds and Grapes, 5th–6th century C.E. Limestone, 8 11/16 x 20 3/4 x 2 3/8 in. (22 x 52.7 x 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.27. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.226.27_PS1.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Plant Scroll Enclosing Birds and Grapes

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

These four reliefs show some of the characteristic features of Late Antique Egyptian sculpture and the ways in which some examples were reworked in modern times. The carving of the panel showing a lion attacking an antelope appears to be ancient, although the surface has certainly been cleaned of any traces of paint. The same appears to be true of the scroll design enclosing birds and grapes. The other two scroll designs, however, must have been damaged in antiquity. They have been “restored” in the twentieth century: one with a clumsily posed human figure and an unconvincing lion’s head, the other with a pair of snakes and bird heads. Snakes and partial representations of animals very seldom appeared in Late Antique Egyptian sculpture. However, such “renewals” as these may have given more adventurous carvers the idea of creating the entirely new sculptures seen elsewhere in this exhibition.

CULTURE Coptic

MEDIUM Limestone

Place Found: El Behnasa (Oxyrhynchus), Egypt

DATES 5th–6th century C.E.

PERIOD Late Antique Period

DIMENSIONS 8 11/16 x 20 3/4 x 2 3/8 in. (22 x 52.7 x 6 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 86.226.27

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Coptic. Plant Scroll Enclosing Birds and Grapes, 5th–6th century C.E. Limestone, 8 11/16 x 20 3/4 x 2 3/8 in. (22 x 52.7 x 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.27. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.226.27_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 86.226.27_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT 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. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.