FragmentsSyrian2nd-3rd century CE

Wall Painting Fragment

160-250 CE

Description

Dark red, pink, and black pigment on white plaster. The decoration, as visible, is composed of black scalloping lines and red wiggling lines with pink beneath: the design is not entirely clear. Fragment 1940.97.57 and 1940.97.58 join together at a modern cut. They share a decorative scheme with 1935.7.1. The fragment was examined and analyzed in the Straus Center in 2023. Ultraviolet-induced fluorescence imaging produced results consistent with madder lake in the pink areas.

Classification

Fragments

Technique

Painted

Medium

Pigment on Plaster

Culture

Syrian

Period

Roman Imperial period

Century

2nd-3rd century CE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

Irreg.: H. 4.6 × W. 10.5 × D. 2.1 cm (1 13/16 × 4 1/8 × 13/16 in.)

Provenance

Dura-Europos (near modern Salihiyeh, Syria), excavated [1]; by the Yale-French Excavations [2] (by 1937), gift; to Prentice Duell [3], Boston, MA, (by 1940), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1940. [1] The specific archaeological findspots (on the site) of the gifted wall painting fragments were not recorded (Letter, Clark Hopkins to Prentice Duell, June 9, 1940, Folder 13 ("Blue: Azurite"), Pigment File, Unspecified MS Box No. 3, Papers of Prentice Van Walbeck Duell, 1894-1960, Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA). [2] Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos (1928-1937), a collaboration between Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) and the French Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (Paris), in agreement with the High Commission of the French Republic (French Mandate of Syria). A portion of excavated finds were distributed to Yale under partage agreements. [3] Given as samples of ancient wall painting under the auspices of Clark Hopkins (1895-1976), field director of Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos, 1931-1935, to Prentice Duell (1894-1960). Duell was an architect, archaeologist, and scholar of ancient painting. Duell worked on archaeological field projects in the US, Greece, and Egypt (Saqqara); he was a research fellow of Etruscan art at the Fogg Museum from 1939 to 1960.