<em>Holy Wisdom (?) in a Lunette</em>, 20th century (probably). Limestone, With Mount: 20 3/16 x 29 15/16 x 6 1/2 in. (51.3 x 76 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.80. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.80_PS2.jpg)

Holy Wisdom (?) in a Lunette, 20th century (probably). Limestone, With Mount: 20 3/16 x 29 15/16 x 6 1/2 in. (51.3 x 76 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.80. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.80_PS2.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Holy Wisdom (?) in a Lunette

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The craftsmanship of these two works is comparable to the best of the Brooklyn Museum’s genuine Late Antique stone carvings. However, many features show that neither is ancient. Like many forgeries, both figures have unrealistic hair and heavily outlined, staring eyes. The female figure’s garment, with its odd folds and neckline, is without parallels, as is her headdress. She holds an orb with a cross and a scepter, objects held in Late Antique Sculpture only by male archangels, and she appears to stand in front of the framing arch, rather than within it. The paralytic man healed by Jesus was seldom illustrated in this period; moreover, this sizable figure would have been inappropriate in either a tomb or a church. It has been carefully—and unrealistically—damaged only on both hands and one lower edge.

MEDIUM Limestone

DATES 20th century (probably)

PERIOD Modern

DIMENSIONS With Mount: 20 3/16 x 29 15/16 x 6 1/2 in. (51.3 x 76 x 16.5 cm) Without mount: 18 5/16 x 29 1/2 x 6 1/4 in. (46.5 x 75 x 15.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 58.80

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Holy Wisdom (?) in a Lunette, 20th century (probably). Limestone, With Mount: 20 3/16 x 29 15/16 x 6 1/2 in. (51.3 x 76 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.80. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 58.80_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 58.80_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007

"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.