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Art in Egypt under Roman rule: relief sculpture

Limestone slab with figure of Bes as Roman soldier brandishing sword in the right hand and holding spear and shield in left hand in low relief. Top corners chipped. The relief is an example of style mixture not uncommon in Roman Egypt. The god Bes is Egyptian, and the bowed legs, leonine face, outsticking tongue and feathered headdress belong to his traditional iconography. His clothing and his weapons are those of a Roman soldier. The way the god holds the sword might be Roman as well, whereas the technique of the sunken relief is again borrowed from Egyptian art.

UC 16592


 

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