Culture:Roman
Medium:Marble
Dimensions:Overall: 34 x 85 x 36 1/4 in. (86.4 x 215.9 x 92.1 cm)
Classification:Stone-Architectural-Inscribed
Credit Line:Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1955
Accession Number:55.11.5
The magnificent, highly detailed and splendid in design Late Roman marble sarcophagus displayed in Metropolitan Museum of Art immediately draws viewers attention. The exhibit is extremely well preserved for the work dated A.D. 260–270, it is clear even for non-professional eye. The museum records state that ‘it has been preserved almost intact and only a few of the minor extremities are now missing’. The literature available in the museum collection also states that ‘originally it would have had paint and gilt highlights to make it even easier to view’ [Thompson 124]. However, the lighting and atmosphere in the museum hall makes all the exposits in the gallery prominently stand on its own.
Perhaps, such a noble material as marble is the main reason for it, most of works of Gallienic period displayed in the museum are marble, indicating both cultural and spiritual richness of Roman Empire. The sarcophagus is an exquisite example of Roman funerary art, most probable it was carved in Rome. The artist and the client are unknown, but it is clear that only the wealthiest members of Roman aristocracy could afford to order this masterpiece [MetMuseum].
The most captivating thing about the sarcophagus is its design, extremely plentiful elements and figures, from the first sight such quantity of people and animals seems abundant, but during further examination the motif becomes hypnotizing and the role of each figure more clear. The attention to details and thoroughness of each element, especially children and small animals is astonishing. The description of the sarcophagus provided in the museum states that it is ‘decorated with forty human and animal figures carved in high relief. The central figure is that of the god Dionysos seated on a panther, but he is somewhat overshadowed by four larger standing figures who represent the four Seasons (from left to right, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall)’ [MetMuseum]. The explanation helps to draw attention to the features of each figure and the symbols they are bearing in their hands. The figure of the god is first under the eye of the gazer, due to its central position, however, the grandeur of the panther and its grimace steals attention from the face of Dionysos. Surprisingly, ‘the subjects - the triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons - are unlikely, however, to have had any special significance for the deceased, particularly as it is clear that the design was copied from a sculptor's pattern book’ [MetMuseum]. The motif also seems rather cheerful for the funerary art, it comes from Roman beliefs about death. Moreover, the sarcophagus is most likely stand in the tomb which often was constructed as a house, the family of the buried person would come to the tomb on the days of some celebrations and have a banquet inside honoring the dead, that is why the figures on the sarcophagus seem to take part in the celebration as well [Thompson 125].
Even despite the fact that the pattern was taken from the book by the artist it points to bright and fertile past of the Roman era and it is the main trait of the sarcophagus that intrigues a lot of museum visitors.
Works Cited
«Marble sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons». MetMuseum. Web. 30 March 2016.
<http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254819?high=on&rpp=15&pg=1&rndkey=20120830&ft=*&where=Roman+Empire&pos=1>
Thompson, Nancy L.. Roman Art: A Resource for Educators. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007. Print.
<https://books.google.be/books?id=vmQNF0K2xigC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false>
