ABSTRACT
The pieces are carved out of a highly crystalline marble, and they are well-executed, particularly on the terms of earliest Christian art, which is often characterized by its relatively common nature. If Jonah is a story about an out-of-place Israelite who has been dislodged from the usual trappings of being an Israelite and traveled to new contexts and spaces, then it isn't surprising that early Christians found meaning and comfort in the story. Jonah is rarely depicted in some static representation of his story; he is most often shown as a life in progress, moving from one station to the next in his procession across the medium. A haptic function connected to ritual helps to explain the unexpected artistic way stations in Jonah's story. One of the troubles with the word "hybridity" is that as a metaphor it presumes the preexistence of two pure and whole originals—the beings which then mate to produce the hybrid creature.
