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Source Description

This relief is a fragment of a ciborium, a free-standing stone canopy supported by columns, designed to cover the altar or baptismal font of a church. The relief shows two confronted peacocks, symbols of paradise and immortality in early Christian and Byzantine art, placed above an interlace border that once outlined the open arch of the ciborium. Relatively late in date, such architectural elements were carved after the Langobards had settled permanently in Italy.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
4235
label
Ciborium Fragment
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4235
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Ciborium Fragment
description
This relief is a fragment of a ciborium, a free-standing stone canopy supported by columns, designed to cover the altar or baptismal font of a church. The relief shows two confronted peacocks, symbols of paradise and immortality in early Christian and Byzantine art, placed above an interlace border that once outlined the open arch of the ciborium. Relatively late in date, such architectural elements were carved after the Langobards had settled permanently in Italy.
provenance
Christine Alexander (Mrs. Breckenridge Long), Rome and Laurel, Maryland [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1959, by bequest.
date
8th-9th century (early Medieval)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
ciborium
fragments
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
40.8
height
60.5
depth
10
dimensionsRaw
H: 16 1/16 x W: 23 13/16 x D: 3 15/16 in. (40.8 x 60.5 x 10 cm)
Source extras
cul
Langobardic
med
limestone
creator_ids
7359
collection_ids
MED
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
30bf201140ac78cc