A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS
A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS
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THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTOR
A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS

CIRCA EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS
CIRCA EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.
47 in. (119.3 cm.) long
Provenance
with Crowther of Syon Lodge, London.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 1990s.

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon
Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

Lot Essay

The portrait bust in the central medallion of the front panel was left unfinished in antiquity. While traditionally explained by practical matters – such as the financial insolvency of a patron or time constraints – recent scholarship has embraced the notion that unfinished sarcophagi may have been intentional. These reasons may include a change in Roman attitudes away from public achievement toward private spirituality or philosophical and religious ideas which prompted new ways of looking at the human body and visual images. For a discussion of the phenomenon, see J. Huskinson “'Unfinished Portrait Heads' on Later Roman Sarcophagi: Some New Perspectives,” Papers of the British School at Rome, vol. 66, pp. 129-158.

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