Skip Navigation

Arch in Five Segments

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

This slender arch, carved in five segments, is designed as a repeating pattern of paired birds, possibly doves, standing back-to-back on either side of a flowering plant, with their heads turned toward each other. A slightly larger version of the plant separates each pair of birds from the next. Since it could not have supported architectural weight, this arch may have lined a larger, sturdier arch, or it may have decorated a flat wall.
CULTURE Coptic
MEDIUM Limestone
  • Reportedly From: Ahnas (Ehnasya), Egypt
  • DATES ca. 6th century C.E.
    PERIOD Late Antique Period
    DIMENSIONS 65 15/16 x 81 1/8 in. (167.5 x 206 cm) 45.131a: 6 5/16 x 42 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (16 x 108 x 12 cm) 45.131b: 6 1/2 x 30 5/16 x 4 3/4 in. (16.5 x 77 x 12 cm) 45.131c: 6 11/16 x 33 7/8 x 4 5/8 in. (17 x 86 x 11.8 cm) 45.131d: 6 13/16 x 27 9/16 x 4 1/2 in. (17.3 x 70 x 11.5 cm) 45.131e: 6 1/2 x 33 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (16.5 x 84.5 x 12 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 45.131a-e
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Coptic. Arch in Five Segments, ca. 6th century C.E. Limestone, 65 15/16 x 81 1/8 in. (167.5 x 206 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 45.131a-e. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 45.131a_PS1.jpg)
    IMAGE component, a, 45.131a_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
    "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.