The Martyrdom of St. Thekla
Description
Object Label: It is probable that these four examples of Christian art were made for religious buildings rather than tombs. The capital, which would have decorated the top of a small column, has slots to hold the walls of a chapel. The bust of an unnamed saint, shown blessing his viewers, may represent the patron saint of a church or monastery. The pair of reliefs shows saints who are little known today. St. Sissinios is apparently shown killing his sister, whose daughter had been taken over by the devil. St. Thekla, who was converted to Christianity by St. Paul, is being martyred by two crudely rendered lions. Caption: Coptic. The Martyrdom of St. Thekla, 6th century C.E., perhaps with modern reworking. Limestone, pigment, 13 3/16 x 23 1/4 x 5 5/16 in. (33.5 x 59 x 13.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 40.299. (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 rectangular stone relief depicting a central figure flanked by two animals with palm leaves.
The artifact is a stone relief showing a central human-like figure, possibly a deity or mythological figure, with arms raised. This figure is flanked by two animals, likely lions, and surrounded by stylized palm leaves. The composition is symmetrical and exhibits intricate carving indicative of skilled craftsmanship, typical of decorative motifs from ancient times.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 40.299 tier-2
- BKM-Object 50218 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.