Pompeii Fresco Piece Featuring a Nilotic Scene - Art Print

This striking piece whisks us back to ancient Egypt, seen through the lens of Roman times. Dating between 1 and 79 CE, it depicts an intriguing Nilotic scene where a crocodile edges closer to a tiny figure in a waka, possibly a pygmy, with thatched whare and colonnaded bridges setting the scene behind. The artwork captures the buzz of "Egyptomania" that gripped the Roman Empire after the 1st century BCE. We’re stoked by how this work weaves together a few stories at once. The exotic Egyptian motifs served a bunch of purposes for wealthy Romans – from showing off their cultural savvy to calling on fertility symbols tied to the Nile’s yearly floods. Some experts reckon the small figure symbolises the wondrous and mysterious qualities Romans linked with Egypt. This stunning tempera on plaster fragment now calls the J. Paul Getty Museum home.