The
type is not in Ertl and I find this example very odd and concerning.
Ertl breaks down the plaques by shape of the plaque and panels. With the pointy top this example would fall into
his type E family.
However, it looks nothing like any of
his E
types, E.1 to E.6.
The biggest problem is the top register with the
bust with two snakes. Not only does this not appear on any E
type, it does not appear on any of the 142
types listed in Ertl (Ertl shows over 450 examples in
his book but they fall into the 142 different
types or moulds).
The
bust, with the haircut, drapery and
fibula (I think) looks very much like a 4th century
style, unlike anything found on the plaques - which date to the 3rd century.
While the rest of the panels have iconography that generally matches the plaques, it is not laid out in a manner consistent with any other
type E example.
All of this makes me suspicious that it is a
fake.
I also find the images and design rather "chunky".
SC
