Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This finely carved plaque comes from a casket or box similar to WAM 71.295. Adam, identified by an inscription, grieves over his expulsion from paradise. The pose of the figure, a traditional expression of sorrow, seems to echo the pose of a classical statue of Herakles (the Greek form of Hercules) that was still to be seen in the Hippodrome of Constantinople at the time when this plaque was carved. The image of Adam therefore illustrates how artists in Byzantium at times re-interpreted older, Classical models.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
18441
label
Sorrowing Adam
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
18441
sourceUrl
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Sorrowing Adam
description
This finely carved plaque comes from a casket or box similar to WAM 71.295. Adam, identified by an inscription, grieves over his expulsion from paradise. The pose of the figure, a traditional expression of sorrow, seems to echo the pose of a classical statue of Herakles (the Greek form of Hercules) that was still to be seen in the Hippodrome of Constantinople at the time when this plaque was carved. The image of Adam therefore illustrates how artists in Byzantium at times re-interpreted older, Classical models.
provenance
Count Auguste de Bastard, by purchase; Léon Gruel, Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
10th-11th century (Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ivory & Bone
plaques
reliefs
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7
height
8
depth
0.8
dimensionsRaw
H: 2 3/4 x W: 3 1/8 x D: 5/16 in. (7 x 8 x 0.8 cm)
Source extras
cul
Byzantine
inscriptions
ADAM
dynasty
Macedonian Dynasty
med
ivory
creator_ids
6640
collection_ids
BYZ
exhibition_ids
358
889
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
89cbd134c79c18cf