A BYZANTINE GREEN PORPHYRY CAPITAL

Lapis Lacedaemonius has been quarried and carved since antiquity. Since the blocks are generally smaller than those of red porphyry, and its natural occurrence restricted to a single source on the Peloponnese, it is less commonly seen in large-scale ancient carving than more abundant red porphyry. Generally its use in Roman times was limited to the elements in opus sectile pavements in both temples and churches. Since it had the same properties as red porphyry in terms of hardness, when larger blocks were found they were appropriate for use as capitals. For two examples of green porphyry capitals in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which are similar in size and silhouette to the present lot, albeit with more elaborate decoration, attributed to the first half of the fifth century, see acc. nos 1995.680 and 1997.3.