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Graeco-Phoenician

Relief of a Man Burning Incense, ca. CE 70

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Graeco-Phoenician

Title

Relief of a Man Burning Incense

Year

ca. CE 70

Medium

limestone

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • limestone

Dimensions

136.2 x 42.5 x 17.8 cm (53 5/8 x 16 13/16 x 7 inches)

Type

  • Sculpture,
  • Architectural Elements

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

26.161

Projects & Publications

Publications

Classical Sculpture

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

Although the man in this relief is wearing traditional Greek garments, the sculpture is of Roman origin. The only comparable extant reliefs come from the ancient Roman province of Phoenicia (modern Lebanon). Here, a man holds a box of incense and is about to place a grain on the censer before him. His cloak (himation) is delicately fringed and elates to the cult of Isis. This man, either a priest or initiate of this mysterious cult, has likely paused in a ritual procession to make incense offerings to the goddess.

Roman religion was inclusive: popular provincial gods were adopted into the Roman pantheon, and foreign deities were associated with Roman gods through a practice called syncretism. Many of these foreign divinities were worshipped through mystery cults, where elaborate initiation rites brought a strong sense of religious community and offered the promise of spiritual renewal in this world and salvation in the next. Isis was an Egyptian mother goddess whose worship and mystery cult were adopted in Rome during the 1st century BCE.

Weiss Ancient Art Gallery

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Relief of a Man Burning Incense with the accession number of 26.161. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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