Ivory panels with Paul and Thecla
Type:
Boxes
Date:
ca. 430
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Italy
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
4.2 × 9.8 cm (for each panel)
Description:
The British Museum owns three ivory plaques carved with scenes from the Acts of the Apostles. Along with a fourth, non-figural panel, they may once have decorated the sides of a small chest. One scene is taken from the apocryphal Acts of Paul in which Thecla, a virgin from Iconium, listens to Paul expounding on virginity. Thecla stands within a fortified enclosure (possibly a representation of the city of Iconium), resting her chin and leaning on the city walls. The ivory carver uses the walls to place Thecla and Paul in completely difference spaces, but also departs from the text, which describes Thecla as listening through a window. This is likely deliberate: the symbolic implications of the city fortifications and the closed doors wrapped around the bottom half of Thecla's body reinforce the idea of her well-guarded virginity.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
2
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read more about this object on the website of the British Museum.
Image Credits:
© The Trustees of the British Museum
