Relief

The first products of Coptic art were still suffused with Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman motifs, as exemplified by this block of reliefs. It is an L-shaped block with figures in high relief on three sides and lines engraved into the upper surface. The relief probably served as the ornamental cornice of a building. A woman leaning on a sphinx is depicted on the short side. She probably represents the goddess Euthenia, the personification of prosperity and abundance. Depicted on the long side are four nude men holding onto a crocodile. The combination of Euthenia and a crocodile suggests that the goddess is identified here with the Nile floods, which bring prosperity. In this case, the nude figures represent the water level in ells, one ell being approximately 52 cm.