Stela of Tsanna
Description
Object Label: These two Christian stelae, made after the Arabs conquered Egypt in 642 c.e., reflect new styles from the East. The larger example (71.39.1), which has lost its top section, would have decorated a tomb wall much like the woven wall hangings in homes. Here, exuberant vegetal motifs almost submerge the small crosses. The round-topped stela (69.74.2), which has two lionlike animals in Eastern style and no Christian symbols at all, was made for a woman whose name, Suzanna, indicates that she was Christian. Her father’s name, Pachons, suggest that he was not Christian, a possibility that may explain the lack of Christian imagery here. Caption: Coptic. Stela of Tsanna, 8th century C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 17 11/16 x 13 3/8 x 3 5/16 in. (45 x 34 x 8.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 69.74.2. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A limestone stela with intricate carvings and Greek inscriptions.
The artifact is a finely carved limestone stela featuring an elaborate circular fan-like motif surrounded by geometric patterns and a central pair of crossed hands. Below the hands is a pair of lions, and beneath them are Greek inscriptions. The composition reflects a blend of Egyptian symbolism and Hellenistic influence, evident in the combination of Egyptian motifs and Greek writing.
Connections
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 69.74.2 tier-2
- BKM-Object 94957 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.