Carved bone plaque depicting a soldier, probably from furniture or storage chest, 1st century BCE or 3rd-4th century CE

The soldier on the plaque wears a tunic and cuirass and a crested and plumed helmet with cheek guards. His spear is beside him. The modeling is bold and chunky but not unaccomplished. The left side of the frame and the front of the soldier's helmet are both chipped. The plaque is sharply convex on a vertical axis and probably decorated a cylindrical box or a piece of furniture. It must have been secured by vertical framing that overlaped the grooved frame on the sides since no attachment holes exist. Plaques of this type normally have been attributed to the 3rd or 4th century, but the similarity of this one in size and style of carving to a plaque from a 1st century BC tomb at Cuma, Italy, raises the question whether this and perhaps other plaques may not be much earlier in date.



Image: Carved bone plaque depicting a soldier, probably from furniture or storage chest, 1st century BCE or 3rd-4th century CE, Roman  at the Walters Art Museum courtesy of the museum.


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