Drawing of a large feline
((:feles magna, leo?))
| Description of Drawing (English): | large feline, lion? |
|---|---|
| Findspot: |
Smyrna, Basilica
(Agora.1)
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| Drawing Category: | Animals |
| Writing Style: | charcoal |
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| Bibliography: | Bagnall, R. S. et al., Graffiti from the Basilica in the Agora of Smyrna (2016): 318. |
| Commentary: | Dipinto of a feline, located on the eastern face of Pier A41, looking into Bay 30. Only the back half of a feline figure, drawn in profile and turned to the left, is still preserved, as most of the plaster has fallen off the wall. The drawing is quite accurate and detailed; the lack of stripes suggests that the graffito is to be interpreted as the picture of a lion. The rump is rounded, the back is arched, and the tail root is clearly marked by a darkened area. The tail is made of one thick curved line culminating in a thicker tuft, now almost completely faded. The hind leg is carefully defined, with shorter streaks suggesting the hair of the heel. The paw is large and divided into three rounded toes. When this dipinto was reexamined in September 2014, the back and the rump had disappeared due to the collapse of the plaster in that area; the description above is thus based on earlier images and drawings. |
| Suggested Citation: | AGP-SMYD00301, The Ancient Graffiti Project, <http://ancientgraffiti.org/Graffiti/graffito/AGP-SMYD00301> [accessed: 18 Apr 2024] |
| Contributions: |
Editor: Roger S. Bagnall Principal Contributor: Roger S. Bagnall Last Revision: 2016-10-03 |
