Funerary stela of a metal worker

Classification
funerary stela
Culture
Graeco-Egyptian (culture)
Dimensions
30.6 x 17.8 x 8.5 cm
Date
2nd–3rd centuries
Period
Roman Imperial Period (Egypt, 30 B.C. – 395 A.D.)
Material
Egyptian limestone; material analysis
Iconography
male figure; hammer; chiton; orant; himation
Production place
Lower Egypt
Findspot
Egypt
Present location
Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Collection of Classical Antiquities
Provenance
Agaybi, Helmi (Medinet el-Fayum)
Inventory
60.10.A
ID
Hyp-6868
References
Castiglione, in AntTan 16 (1969); Castiglione, in BullMusHong 64 (1985), 13–14, 65–66, fig. 12; Pelsmaekers, in BIHB 59 (1989), 10, no. 242

Man clad in a short sleeved chiton and a mantle, standing to front within a simplified architectural frame, his arms raised in a gesture of prayer. He holds a hammer in his right hand – the symbol of his profession was added to the figure of the deceased upon the purchase of the stela and the carving of the inscription.

The three-line Greek inscription mentions both the name and profession of the deceased: Apollodoros was a bronze worker (chalceus).

Material analyses conducted by Danielle Decrouez (Geneva, Museum of Natural History) and Karl Ramseyer (University of Bern, Institute of Geological Sciences) have shown that the stela was made of Egyptian limestone. Click here for the detailed results.

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This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.