Funerary Stela with Boy Seated in a Niche

Coptic

1 of 13

Object Label

The most common image of the deceased in pagan burials was a figure of a boy standing or seated in a niche. The seated boy here holds a dove and a bunch of grapes. These objects may also have been held by the standing figure, but his hands and especially his head have been recut and repainted in modern times. That is why those features appear to be in perfect condition, in contrast to the partially preserved color on his red robe.

Caption

Coptic. Funerary Stela with Boy Seated in a Niche, 4th–5th century C.E.. Limestone, ancient and modern paint, 26 9/16 x 12 5/8 x 6 3/16 in. (67.5 x 32 x 15.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 71.39.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 71.39.2_PS1.jpg)

Culture

Coptic

Title

Funerary Stela with Boy Seated in a Niche

Date

4th–5th century C.E.

Period

Late Antique Period

Geography

Reportedly from: El Behnasa (Oxyrhynchus), Egypt

Medium

Limestone, ancient and modern paint

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

26 9/16 x 12 5/8 x 6 3/16 in. (67.5 x 32 x 15.7 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

71.39.2

Rights

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.

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