Figure of a woman thumbnail 1
Figure of a woman thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Figure of a woman

Panel
mid to late 4th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Rome (made)

This thin bone plaque is incised with the figure of a woman standing holding a scroll with a flowering plant at her side. At the bottom and the left side of the fragment there are portions of a border of diamonds and billets. It appears to have originally been part of a casket. It is probably from Rome, mid to late forth century.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Plaques & Plaquettes
Containers
SCRAN
Object type
Panel
TitleFigure of a woman (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Incised bone
Bone
Incising
Brief description
Panel from a casket, incised bone, depicting the figure of a woman, Late Antique, probably Rome, mid to latev 4th century
Physical description
Irregularly shaped incised bone fragment from a casket, depicting the figure of a woman, standing holding a scroll; at the one side is a flowering plant. At the bottom and the left side are portions of a border of diamonds and billets.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.7cm
  • Width: 8.9cm
Styles
Late Antique
Coptic (Period)
Object history
Ex Castellani collection, purchased at Fortnum's sale.
Subjects depicted
Woman
Lily
Curtains
Summary
This thin bone plaque is incised with the figure of a woman standing holding a scroll with a flowering plant at her side. At the bottom and the left side of the fragment there are portions of a border of diamonds and billets. It appears to have originally been part of a casket. It is probably from Rome, mid to late forth century.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1884. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1885. pp. 53
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London. Board of Education. 1927-9. pp. 20
  • c.f Age of Spirituality. New York. 1979. No. 311
  • c.f. Notable Acquisitions. Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1979-80. pp. 20
  • c.f Volbach.Wolfgang Fritz. Elfenbeinarbeiten der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelalters : mit 116 Tafeln. Mainz: Von Zabern, 1976. nos. 208-10
  • c.f. The Carver's Art: Medieval Sculpture in Ivory, bone and horn. New Brunswick, 1989.
  • c.f. Koptische Kunst. Nos. 7060-7064. pls. XI-XIII
  • c.f. Dalton. Early Christian Catalogue. No. 304
  • Williamson, Paul. Medieval Ivory Carvings. Early Christian to Romanesque. London, V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2010, pp. 32, 3, cat.no. 2
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
623-1884

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Record createdOctober 29, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O106866/figure-of-a-woman-panel-unknown/
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