Embroidery
332 v.Chr. - 395 n.Chr.
About the object
This roundel, which only exists as a fragment, was part of a tunic and was separated out by the archaeologists because of its figural representation. In the centre of the picture a female figure with nimbus and headdress sits on a sumptuously-decorated throne. She is possibly holding a child on her lap. Wearing the so-called Phrygian cap, two individuals hasten to the throne from each side. They are holding objects (probably gifts) in their hands. The depiction is strikingly reminiscent of Mary with the Jesus Child and the veneration of the Magi. But it could also be Isis with Horus. Christian and pagan images tended to merge in the period of late Antiquity, so that it is impossible to interpret it definitively. The counterpart to this oval roundel held in Heidelberg depicts the goddess Aphrodite.