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Two relief slabs of door frame with rich plant decoration and animals
Two relief slabs of white marble of good quality. They probably belong to a door frame that adorned one of the entrances of the church of the Panagia Acheiropoietos in Thessaloniki. The two fragments cannot be joined. The decoration is arranged on wide band and consists of two winding vine shoots that form circles, filled alternately with grape and vine leaves. The decoration is further enriched with scenes of life in nature, such as two birds pecking grapes, two bees, a snail and a lizard lying lazily on a wide lacy vine leaf.
The whole representation celebrates the joy of life and at the same time is filled with symbolisms. The vine shoots and grapes allude to the wine of the Divine Eucharist and recall the words of the Lord: “I am the vine, you are the branches”. The balanced composition, soft relief and clarity of the design indicate that these relief slabs were produced at a leading sculpture workshop, possibly located in Thessaloniki.
Code
AG 675α,β
Type
Relief slab
Chronology
5ος - 6ος αι.
Dimensions
a) Preserved lenght 72 cm., preserved width 40 cm., thickness 1 cm. b) Preserved length 51 cm., preserved width 30 cm., thickness 1 cm.
Material of Construction
Marble
Origin
Church of Paniagia Archeiropoietos