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Marble Tabletop
Byzintine, said to be from Rome
Carved 400-600
Small tabletops like this one were once used to celebrate feasts for the dead at graves sites; this commemorative practice was known throughout the Roman and Byzintine worlds. Tha tables were often supported on bases which were elaborately carvedd with messages promising mankind's salvation. Here, at the lower edge of the table, four sheep representing the blessing according to Matthew 25:33-40, flank a Christogram, a monogram composed of the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek, chi (Χ) and rho (Ρ). Such tables are often called sigma tables due to their resemblance to the late form of the Greek letter.