A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS FRAGMENT

CIRCA LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS FRAGMENT
CIRCA LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.
Preserving the upper right corner of a sarcophagus, with a mythological bearded figure to the left, his muscular torso bare, wearing a long moustache and shaggy full beard, and Cupid to the right also looking right, the chubby winged god nude, holding a bow in his right hand, his lowered left arm reaching around the corner, wearing a baldric diagonally across the chest over his right shoulder
19¾ in. (50.2 cm.) long

Provenance

Japanese Private Collection.
Acquired by the current owner in 1986.

Lot Essay

The bearded figure can perhaps be identified as a centaur, with Cupid standing on his back, as seen on a sarcophagus depicting the wedding of Bacchus and Ariadne, no. 18, p. 24, pl. 7 in Walker, Catalogue of Roman Sarcophagi in the British Museum.

More from Antiquities

View All