Relief Fragments Depicting a Seated Woman and a Griffin

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Inside some Roman houses, baths, and tombs, multiple layers of slow-drying stucco were applied to rough stone walls and divided into panels that were then painted. While the surface was still damp, fresh stucco was applied and modeled into decorative motifs and figures, which were left white to contrast with the painted background. This relief panel and its partner (1922.4429) likely came from the same building. In this panel, a seated woman extends her right arm toward a slender griffin, a mythological winged beast with the body of a cat and the head of a bird.

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