Relief with Addorsed Ducks (DO BZ.1936.51)
This relief suggests iconographic exchanges between medieval textiles and other media. Two sculpted ducks sit with their backs towards each other, with ribbons tied loosely around their necks, enshrined in a beaded frame. These design elements were common in the luxury eastern textiles that circulated in the Mediterranean at this time, especially those deriving from Sasanian designs (the Sasanians controlled the Near East before the Muslim conquests in the 7th century). It is likely that this relief panel was influenced by these designs. In its original context, the marble panel likely decorated a piece of liturgical furniture, perhaps a pulpit, in a Christian church. The designs were inspired by foreign textile traditions and, here, are recontextualized into a Christian framework.
