Byzantine basalt tomb door, Syria, circa 6th-7th Century A.D.
Conservation: Good condition
Material: Basalt
Dimensions: 145 cm x 91 cm; circa 400 kg
Provenance: UK private collection, England, acquired in the 1970s / Bonhams London, Auction, 2014
Exhibited: Ifergan Collection, Málaga (2018-2020)
Published: Antiquities, London, Bonhams, October 2nd, 2014.
Price:
On request
Decorated with eight sunken square relief panels, each filled with a raised relief motif in relief, including columns, scrolls, rosettes, squares and a cruciform motif in the lower right, a slender columnar motif carved in relief in the center. The upper hole on the upper left side was used as a handle for opening and closing the door.
Francesca Severini published a study in 2006 establishing the existence of 160 examples of Byzantine tomb doors scattered in various areas of the world.
