Plate 1.7: Decorated Coffer from Jerusalem (1st cent.?). The human figure was of no interest to the carver
of this stone chest, for whom geometrical forms seemed more appropriate for its sober contents: the bones
of the dead.
The extraordinary development of the fourth century was the center’s
appropriation of these provincial artistic styles. The trend is graphically illustrated by
a marble base made at Constantinople c.390 to support a gigantic ancient obelisk,
transported at great cost from Egypt and set up with considerable difficulty at the
Hippodrome, the great sports arena. (For the location of the Hippodrome, see Map
4.1 on p. 116.) The four-sided base depicts the games and races that took place in
the stadium. The side shown in Plate 1.8 is decisively divided into two tiers. At the
top are the imperial family and other dignitaries, all formal, frontal, staring straight
ahead. Directly in the center is the imperial group, higher than all others. Beneath, in
the lower tier, are bearded, hairy-coated barbarians, bringing humble offerings to
those on high. The two levels are divided by a decorative frame, a rough indication of
