Depinto Picture and Inscription Artist: Unknown

ca. 323 B.C.–A.D. 256

Ancient Art

By appointment, Wurtele Study Center

Zabdo(i)us (written in Greek) presumably names the calm, mounted huntsman who aims his Parthian recurved bow at an onrushing lion. He is also labeled VICTOR (Latin for victorious). Zabodus's dress and frontal riding pose reveal cultural influences from the Parthian empire. Found on the walls of the scribal offices of the Temple of Azzanathkona, the relief uses imagery and text to express military and political prowess. Mounted archers hunting lions are found throughout ancient Near Eastern art. The lion hunt displayed the courage and vigor of a ruler capable of defeating dangerous predators who symbolized chaos and evil.

Medium

Paint on plaster

Dimensions

8 × 11 1/4 in. (20.32 × 28.58 cm)

Credit Line

Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos

Accession Number

1933.299

Geography

Excavated in Dura-Europos, Syria

Culture

Syrian, Dura-Europos

Period

Greco-Roman or Parthian

Classification

Inscriptions

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Excavated by the Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos, present-day Syria, 1928–37; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • Jennifer Chi and Sebastian Heath, eds., Edge of Empires: Pagans, Jews, and Christians at Roman Dura-Europos, exh. cat. (New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, 2011), 112, no. 17, ill
  • Lisa R. Brody and Gail Hoffman, eds., Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity (Boston: McMullen Museum of Art, 2011), 329, no. 14, pl. 14
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Inscriptions

roughly painted Greek inscription above scene

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.