There appear to be very few surviving depictions in ancient art of how papyrus rolls were actually used in daily life. One that might be more symbolic and ceremonial than "realistic" in our sense is the ivory diptych of Probianus, which celebrates his installation in Rome as Vicarius urbis Romae. According to Berger's Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law, Vol. 43, 764, the Vicarius in urbe (Roma) was the "head of the administration of the southern part of the dioecesis Italia. . . ."
From the perspective of book history what is most significant about this diptych is not the depiction of Probianus, but the depiction to his left and right of secretaries recording his speech on wax tablets, and of orators in the panel below him pointing with their right hands while they hold open papyrus rolls in their left hand. This shows how orators held papyrus rolls open for reference while they spoke.
A clearer image of the Probianus diptych than that in Wikipedia commons at the link above appears in Wright, The Roman Vergil and the Origins of Medieval Book Design (2001) 8.
Filed under: Archaeology, Art , Book History, Paper / Papyrus / Parchment / Vellum, Survival of Information
