Writer and Folding Chair

 

A statue of a bearded scribe raised on a square pedestal and devoid of inscription. The man is seated on a folding chair with curved legs. He seems in the process of opening a scroll lying in his lap. His dress consists of a tunic, the sleeves of which reach the elbow, and a himation wrapped around his left shoulder and waist and descending all the way to his ankles. The feet are clad with sandals, the straps of which are fixed onto the insoles in the first interdigital space bilaterally. The neck is massive. The scalp is covered with thick, curly hair that leaves the small external ears visible. The eyes are large and almond-shaped. The forehead is narrow, and the eyebrows are thick. The nasal ridge is narrow and a thick mustache masks the nasolabial folds. The pursed lips are fleshy.

The left upper extremity distal to the elbow is missing. The left end of the scroll is broken. The head was separated from the neck to be reattached in a modern restoration. The surface is entirely covered by a thin, dark brownish patina. 

Provenance: al-Kafr. Discovered in 1952 during a rescue excavation by the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities in a vineyard north of the village. 

Substance: basalt. 

Dimensions: H 122 cm, W 47.5 cm (pedestal), D 49.5 cm. 

Era: second century CE. 

Text: adapted from Weber (p. 99). 

Collection: National Museum of Damascus. 

Thomas M. Weber. Sculptures from Roman Syria in the Syrian National Museum of Damascus. Vol I, from Cities and Villages in Central and Southern Syria. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. Worms. 2006.