289-300

Relief plaque of roman date in the Chalkis Museum

• Κατάκης, Στυλιανός Ε.

In the Chalkis Archaeological Museum is preserved the upper part of a plaque with a depiction of a winged Erotideus brandishing a stylised thyrsos towards a panther, which he holds by a strap tied around its neck (inv. no. 2227).The plaque takes the usual form of such Roman plaques, which have a border articulated by mouldings on at least three sides. In the present case, the moulding is quite plain and the plaque has an unusual square shape. The form of the plaque and stylistic analysis of the depiction, mainly with reference to similar figures of Eros on Attic sarcophagi, indicate that the work belongs to the early Antonine period, in the middle or at the beginning of the second half of the 2nd c. AD.The representation of the Erotideus and panther as a group is not known from any other examples. It forms part of the rich Dionysiac iconography, since the panther is the symbol of Dionysos, and the object held by Eros can only be intepreted as a thyrsos, the top end of which will have been painted. The plaque has a clearly decorative character. It is evident from the projecting sections of marble on the top edge and the right side that originally it would have been incorporated into a wall, probably of a luxurious house at Chalkis or the surrounding area.The differences from other known plaques, the unusual iconographie subject, and the kind of marble suggest that the plaque was the product of a local, Chalkidian workshop. The marble comes from the area of Ayia Marina - Rhamnous in Attiki, and is not used for sculptures, with the exception of a head of a bearded man with a richly decorated helmet, found at Chalkis, in an area identified or associated with a sculpture workshop.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Decorative arts
• Archaeology and art

Για την άδεια δημοσίευσης του πίνακα ευχαριστώ την προϊσταμένη της ΙΑ' Εφορείας Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων A. Α. Καραπασχαλίδου. Η συγκόλληση των θραυσμάτων και τα σχέδια του πίνακα οφείλονται στο ικανό προσωπικό της Εφορείας, στο συντηρητή Ζ. Μάντζαρη και στη σχεδιάστρια Δ. Χρήστου. Η φωτογράφηση του πίνακα ε'γινε από τον συ- νεργαζόμενο με την Εφορεία φωτογράφο Θ. Κρόκο. Πολύτιμες στάθηκαν οι παρατηρήσεις των συνάδελφων Π. Καραναστάση, A. Β. Καραπαναγιώτου, Β. Μαχαίρα και Α. Χατζηδημητρίου, τους οποίους επίσης θερμά ευχαρι τώ., Περιέχει σχέδια και συντομογραφίες, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες