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Couch and footstool with bone carvings and glass inlays

1st–2nd century CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 168
These pieces of furniture have been reassembled from fragments, some of which may come from the imperial villa of Lucius Verus (co-emperor, A.D. 161–169), on the Via Cassia outside Rome. It is not certain that the square glass panels are original to the bed frame and stool, but the carved bone inlays are paralleled on other Roman couches. On the couch legs are friezes of huntsmen, horses, and hounds flanking Ganymede, the handsome Trojan youth who was abducted by Zeus in the guise of an eagle to serve as his wine steward; on the footstool are scenes of winged cupids and leopards; and on the sides of the bed frame, the striking lion protomes have eyes inlaid with glass.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Couch and footstool with bone carvings and glass inlays
  • Period: Imperial
  • Date: 1st–2nd century CE
  • Culture: Roman
  • Medium: Wood, bone, glass
  • Dimensions: 41 1/2 × 30 × 84 1/2 in. (105.4 × 76.2 × 214.6 cm)
    footstool: 9 1/4 × 17 1/2 × 25 1/2 in. (23.5 × 44.5 × 64.8 cm)
  • Classifications: Miscellaneous-Bone, Ivory
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.2076
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

Audio

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1207. Couch and footstool with bone carvings and glass inlays

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