A Terracotta Plaque in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Judgement scene or Congiarium

The subject of this article is a terracotta plaque in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection formerly in the Barberini Collection, Rome. It shows Christ and six apostles seated on a dais with a small-scale group of men, women, and children below. This highly unusual scene has been interpreted by some scholars as the Last Judgement, by others as congiarium scene. In my opinion, it is definitely not a judgment, but rather a contamination of the traditional Christ as a teacher and a congiarium scene. There are a few other examples of Christian scenes with the inclusion of elements from secular art. These elements need not have been inspired by imperial monuments, however. One may also think of objects with scenes from the activities of high dignitaries, such as diptychs and the like

Apostles · Archaeology · Art · Judgement · Literature · Terracotta · Visual arts · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Byzantine Studies and History · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Philosophy