A GREEK MARBLE FUNERARY STELE

LATE HELLENISTIC, CIRCA SECOND HALF OF 1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK MARBLE FUNERARY STELE
LATE HELLENISTIC, CIRCA SECOND HALF OF 1ST CENTURY B.C.
Surmounted by a pediment, the recessed central panel sculpted with three female figures in relief, wearing himations over floor-length chitons, the deceased in the centre, standing with her left leg bent, her himation pulled up over her head, her hair dressed in a nodus at the front, gazing downwards, her right arm bent across her chest, holding the hand of the veiled figure standing behind her, an unveiled female figure standing before her, her hair swept back, secured with a fillet, holding an object in her right hand, her left hand extended and touching the forearm of the deceased, the scene flanked by two thin pilasters with voluted capitals
35¾ in. (91 cm.) high

Provenance

Johannes Behrens (1847-1947) collection, Bremen, Germany.

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Lot Essay

Although based on an earlier Greek model, the Late Hellenistic date of the stele can be established by the distinctive nodus coiffure of the figures which became fashionable during the second half of the 1st Century B.C. The deceased is accompanied by a slightly smaller figure behind her, perhaps a member of her family, and the unveiled figure facing her, perhaps a young servant, who holds an unidentifiable object, possibly a small cup. Figures shaking hands in a gesture of farewell are typical of many funerary stelae of the Greek and Roman worlds. The touching scene depicted on this stele bears testament to the delicate fashion in which its sculptor treated the theme of death. Cf. E. Pfühl and H. Möbius, Die ostgriechischen Grabreliefs, Mainz, 1977, p. 128 ff.; p. 143, no. 426; and M. Fuchs, In hoc etiam genere Graecia nihil cedamus. Studien zur Romanisierung der späthellenistichen Kunst im 1. Jh. V. Chr., Mainz, pp. 21-22, pl. 19.

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