THE SANTA SABINA ACCLAMATION PANEL ONCE
AGAIN: READING FROM THE INSIDE OUT
ALLYSON EVERINGHAM SHECKLER
MARY JOAN WINN LEITH
The existing eighteen narrative panels on the famous fifth-century
wooden doors of the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill in
Rome have generated a vast bibliography.
1
Of these, the so-called ac-
clamation panel (40 Â 85 cm; fig. 1) has eluded secure identification.
Currently, the most compelling identification of the main figure in the
scene is the founder of the church, Peter the Illyrian. This identifica-
tion gains credibility when the text of the contemporary monumental
mosaic inscription located inside the church, above the doors, is taken
into account (fig. 2).
source: notes in the history of art. summer 2016. © 2016 by bard
graduate center. all rights reserved. 0737-4453/2016/3504-0002 $10.00