Villamagna - Record View Page: VM

DefinitionMedieval low relief
MaterialWhite marble
Amount1
Length (cm)14.0
Height (cm)
Width (cm)16.5
Depth (cm)6.0
Thickness (cm)
Diameter (cm)
State of ConservationThe fragment is broken on one side and roughly cut on three sides. The straightness of two of the cuts suggests that the fragment was trimmed for reuse. The back of the fragment was roughly finished. The carved surface is worn and criss-crossed by cracks. All sides are lightly chipped and discoloured.
DescriptionAE 1065 preserves a section of the peacock's tail or part of a palm (the same graphic vocabulary was used to describe both).
ComparandaStylized palms, often flanking crosses, were a popular motif. A nearby example can be found on a large ninth-century fragment from the Cathedral of Santa Maria, Anagni, which is now housed in the Museo Lapidario (Mengarelli 2006, 71, fig. 7) and, a little further afield at S. Sabina, Rome (ca 824; Kautzsch 1939, 32). Another example, geographically more distant, but stylistically closer to AE 1065, can be found on a well head now housed in the Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Berlin (Inv. no. 2924; http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=1485653&viewType=detailView) dated to the ninth century and localized (on iconographical/stylistic grounds) to Venice.
Notes

Context VM_4063
- DefinitionStrato di terra posto ella parte centro-occidentale del saggio