Writing Tablet with Lion Motif

Creator

Preview

Creation Date

6th–9th centuries

Geography

Egypt

Culture

Coptic, Byzantine

Medium

Wood and red paint

Dimensions

5 5/16 × 6 1/4 × 7/16 in. (13 × 15.5 × 1.2 cm)

Credit Line

Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020

Accession Number

2020.188

Provenance

Purchased by David P. Harris from Julia Schottlander (Tetragon) in London on June 13, 1992. Said to be from a ca. 1880s collection.

Condition

The engraved wood is still intact, the holes still preserve their channel, and all edges are still intact. The only loss is the top edge, which has a bit of the wood missing, exposing the grain underneath. The back of the tablet has less wax residue and is smoothed down, perhaps from use wear patterns or intentional sanding.

Ellie Westfall (’27), October 2023

References

Brad Hostetler, with Ani Parnagian, "From Private to Public: The Collection of David P. Harris," in Ethiopian Objects in the Blick-Harris Study Collection: Art, Context, and the Persistence of Form, eds. Brad Hostetler, and Lynn Jones, Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 5–25. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/

Description

This is a rectangular wooden object, likely one half of a diptych used for practicing writing. The front has a carved design, featuring nesting borders that enclose a quadruped. The middle frontal border has carved circles decorating the inside, some more angular and roughly carved than others. Above and below the quadruped, in that same border, are centered hollow carved circles bringing the sandwiched border together. The most interior border, right before entering into the quadruped’s realm, is thin and roughly carved. We are given the right side profile of a quadruped. The quadruped, a term I’ll use until I argue its specificity, has 4 legs with large claws, a mighty tail, and what looks like a tongue sticking out, a determinate act of fierceness or power. The carved eye, nose, and ear are visible, but less deeply carved. The highest relief of the front is the outline of the quadruped, followed by the centered parallel circular carvings framing the quadruped. In the realm of the quadruped, there are two intentional angular designs left uncarved. They both include two triangles carved out of them, giving them the appearance of ill oriented wings, which complicated the determination of the quadruped. The neck of the quadruped has indents carved out, almost giving the impression of hair or a mane of some sort.

The object itself is roughly carved. The edges are uneven and slightly concave, either from use wear or original creation. A few holes mark the surface, but not in a way that suggests post use damage. Six intentional holes hollow the surface for use of binding with either string or leather. The coloring is not standardized on the entire object. Because it is wood, it has natural highlights and lowlights within grain, but the front of this object also has dark reddish coloring along with blackish bits. It is a very smooth front; the parts that remain from carving around them are shiny and well smoothed. I believe this coloration can be perhaps attributed to remnants of red paint. The back coloring could be attributed to burning, which was common practice in heating the writing tablet wax. The reverse is very plain, with just a simple recessed rectangle carved into the original block of wood. The grain of the wood is still very visible on this side. There seems to be no remnant wax from where it would have been melted, cooled, and inscribed.

The quadruped looks to be in movement. With its tongue out, legs bent, and tail up, it gives the impression of being on the defensive. Schottlander believed it to be a hare, but I disagree. I will tentatively identify it is a lion with the mane as my main indicator. Though lions disappeared in Egypt before Coptic Christianity, the figure could be a call back to the past, or it could be a reference to the lion as a Christian symbol. If the carved triangles are read as wings, then the figure may also be identified as a griffin.

The border emulates Coptic tapestry designs with the large pearl motif running the sides. It gives the piece a decorative, yet impressive appeal opposing the hap-hazard messy carving. Coptic is the language child between Middle Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek, and although the word “Coptic” has its issues, I believe it is the proper term for this tablet, if only in reference to its written script and the Christian symbolism. Using wax on wood is interesting, as it reflects the shift from traditional Egyptian writing techniques to Greek influence.

Ellie Westfall (’27)