Sarcophagus
Artist
Unknown
CultureRoman
Date250-300 C.E.
MediumMarble
DimensionsOverall: 6 x 8 x 59 in. (15.2 x 20.3 x 149.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number77.1276
Collections
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 108
Label TextSarcophagus 250-300 C.E. Roman Marble Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 77.1276 The lid of the sarcophagus was carved in Greece except for the face of the deceased. There was probably a recumbent male figure which was chiseled off in antiquity and replaced by the box. At some point, the lid was joined to the chest, which was not made at the same time. They were first recorded together in the early nineteenth century. The scene on the chest represents children enacting the contests of adult athletes in the Roman circus. On the front at the left is an umpire who hands the palm of victory to a boxer who just knocked down his adversary; in the center another victor receives his palm; to the right is another pair of contestants. ProvenanceSeton College; William BoyceThompson; Gallerie Sangiorgi-Villa Carpegna, Rome. Published ReferencesJ.B. Doni, INSCRIPTIONES ANTIQUAE NUNC PRIMUM EDITAE, (Florence, 1731), ix. J. Junther, "Die Zylinrischen Halteren," RÖM. MITT. 43, 1928, 13-28, Guntram Koch. Catalogue of GALERIE SANGIORGI, Rome, 1910. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 14, fig.1. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
