Fragment with Personifications of Victory and the Nile

Unknown

6th century · Ivory · The Cloisters

This is one of two fragments (see 1971.49.2) that may once have formed a single object celebrating the annual flooding of the Nile River. Holding a wreath, Nike (personification of victory) and the long-haired man Nilos (personification of the river) are surrounded by putti—small childlike figures that, in Egypt, symbolized the number of feet that the river rose each year, ushering in the season of growth and abundance.

Artist

Unknown

Date

6th century

Medium

Ivory

Culture

Byzantine

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1971