Bone panel decorated in relief on one side with the depiction of a naked curly-haired male figure holding an indistinct object over his left shoulder. The figure conforms to classical Greek perspective which replaces the ancient Egyptian canons of art over the course of Ptolemaic and Roman rule. The panel probably comes from the only city founded in Egypt by the Romans, Antinoopolis in Middle Egypt, created by the emperor Hadrian at the site where his lover Antinous drowned in AD 130. In the Byzantine Period the city was capital of the province of Upper Egypt, and therefore at the forefront of changes in material culture.
Present location |
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND [30/002] DUBLIN |
Inventory number |
1914:226 |
Dating |
ROMAN PERIOD |
Archaeological Site |
EL-SHEIKH `ABADA/ANTINOOPOLIS ? |
Category |
RELIEF |
Material |
IVORY |
Technique |
RELIEF |
Width |
3.5 cm |