Panel with Lovers

4th–6th century
Not on view
Carved in relief on one side of a bone panel, a man and woman incline toward one another. Both are preserved in a fragmentary state. What remains of the man’s nude body is, however, carved with careful attention to proportion and musculature. The woman turns toward her partner; her facial features and hair are worn smooth, perhaps as a result of use. The woman’s seemingly intimate embrace contributes to the panel's long-standing designation as a pair of lovers. In contrast to her partner, the woman’s draped lower body may convey modesty, as seen, for example, in the so-called Venus "Pudica Type."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Panel with Lovers
  • Date: 4th–6th century
  • Geography: Made in Egypt
  • Culture: Late Roman/Early Byzantine
  • Medium: Bone
  • Dimensions: 1 15/16 × 1 3/4 in. (5 × 4.5 cm)
  • Classification: Ivories-Bone
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Nanette B. Kelekian, 2020
  • Object Number: 2021.37.6
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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