Funerary Stela with Male Figure
Coptic
1 of 9
Object Label
In this stela, an oddly proportioned naked male figure stands within a columned structure, reaching up to touch an ornamented laurel wreath on his head. In his other hand, he holds a laurel sprig. A Greek inscription along the roof line reads “Olympios, twenty-eight years of age.” This name and the laurel leaves suggest that the owner was a pagan. But the ankh-cross above the capital on the right suggests that this stela may later have been reused for a Christian burial.
Caption
Coptic. Funerary Stela with Male Figure, ca. 500–600 C.E. or later. Limestone, pigment, 14 3/4 x 11 7/16 x 4 1/4 in. (37.4 x 29 x 10.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 40.301. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Culture
Title
Funerary Stela with Male Figure
Date
ca. 500–600 C.E. or later
Period
Late Antique Period
Geography
Place made: Egypt
Medium
Limestone, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
14 3/4 x 11 7/16 x 4 1/4 in. (37.4 x 29 x 10.8 cm)
Inscriptions
Coptic inscription: "Olympios, 28 years of age" or “Olympio, rise in eternal life!”
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
40.301
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