Romano-Egyptian Limestone Funerary Niche

COPTIC, 5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.

19 1/4 in. (57.55 kg, 49 cm).

Carved architectural block fragment comprising: a shallow niche with arched top and parallel sides, with concentric mouldings to create a reveal and ledge below to accept offerings; horizontal tiered base; attachment sockets for two figurines (absent) flanking the niche; to left, a column modelled in the half-round with two parallel vertical stems, shallow roundel to the base and stylised foliage at the top; pediment above with scooped profile; above each figurine recess an incised initial, 'A' and 'M'; facing surface keyed for plaster finish.

Provenance

From the estate and private collection of Matthew Upham (1962-2025), an antiques trader from Budleigh Salterton, Devon, UK.
Acquired at an estate sale at auction.
Property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no. 13297-255939.

Literature

Cf. Crum, M.W.E., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, nos.8001-8741; Coptic Monuments, Le Caire, 1902, pls.II (8414); VII (8434), XLIX-LII, LIII, LIV (complete with the image of ‘orans’) for similar monuments; Atalla, N.S., Coptic Art, Sculptures, Architecture, L'Art Copte, II, Cairo, 1989, figs. pp.35, 45, for similar carvings; Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, items 870-872, for similar niches.

Footnotes

In the Christian Roman Empire, the stelae in the form of aedicula, which could be funerary monuments with crosses or the images of the deceased, or devotional niches with images of saints, appear to be independent sculptures. These stelae consisted of a rectangular body surmounted by a circular arch or trapezoidal structure. At the centre of the niche, the deceased was often depicted full-length, in a praying position (orans). Devotional stelae were also placed inside a church or shrine, with images of the Virgin and Child, or saints.

CONDITION

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LOT 0028