Coptic. <em>Part of an Arch with the Nile God and Earth Goddess</em>, 5th–6th century C.E. Limestone, pigment, 18 1/8 x 26 3/16 x 9 5/8 in. (46 x 66.5 x 24.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 41.891. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.891_PS2.jpg)

Coptic. Part of an Arch with the Nile God and Earth Goddess, 5th–6th century C.E. Limestone, pigment, 18 1/8 x 26 3/16 x 9 5/8 in. (46 x 66.5 x 24.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 41.891. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.891_PS2.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Part of an Arch with the Nile God and Earth Goddess

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

In pagan Egyptian tombs, the deceased was often identified with suitable figures in Greco-Roman mythology. This was particularly apparent in the relief decoration of arches designed to curve out and over the heads of visitors to the public part of the tomb. Like the fragmentary examples here, they might show the god of the Nile to recall an authoritative family man, or a nymph to symbolize a young woman. Some wall reliefs, such as the example here showing Hercules as a mature hero, probably served the same commemorative purpose.

CULTURE Coptic

MEDIUM Limestone, pigment

Reportedly From: Herakleopolis Magna, Egypt

DATES 5th–6th century C.E.

PERIOD Late Antique Period

DIMENSIONS 18 1/8 x 26 3/16 x 9 5/8 in. (46 x 66.5 x 24.5 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 41.891

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Coptic. Part of an Arch with the Nile God and Earth Goddess, 5th–6th century C.E. Limestone, pigment, 18 1/8 x 26 3/16 x 9 5/8 in. (46 x 66.5 x 24.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 41.891. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.891_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 41.891_PS2.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.