GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Like portrait sculpture, the popularity of carved marble sarcophagi for burials in the Roman Empire reflected religious beliefs. The Romans of the Republican Period burnt their dead and buried the ashes in urns, which were left in family tombs. Under the empire, the dead were buried in elaborate coffins of lead, marble, or limestone. The production of richly carved sarcophagi ornamented with mythological scenes, portraits, and decorative motifs related to the cult of the dead formed an important sculptural industry. Relief scenes on Roman sarcophagi achieve a dramatic three-dimensional narrative power. The luxuriant carving is related to similar narrative and ornamental work in fresco paintings, architectural details, and decorative metal work. The subjects illustrated in these reliefs came from Greek myth and symbolized ideas of death, fame, and the cycle of nature. Battles, whether real or mythological, hunting scenes, marriage ceremonies, Dionysiac figures, Cupids, and sea deities celebrated the rhythm of life, death, and rebirth in the natural world.
Adapted from
DMA unpublished material, thematic label copy, Ancient Mediterranean and European Art, Education files.
NOTES
DMA unpublished material = DMA thematic label copy, Ancient Mediterranean and European Art, nd, Education files.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Read more about Roman Sarcophagi.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
apply to objects where number equals 1999.107
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Like portrait sculpture, the popularity of carved marble sarcophagi for burials in the Roman Empire reflected religious beliefs. The Romans of the Republican Period burnt their dead and buried the ashes in urns, which were left in family tombs. Under the empire, the dead were buried in elaborate coffins of lead, marble, or limestone. The production of richly carved sarcophagi ornamented with mythological scenes, portraits, and decorative motifs related to the cult of the dead formed an important sculptural industry. Relief scenes on Roman sarcophagi achieve a dramatic three-dimensional narrative power. The luxuriant carving is related to similar narrative and ornamental work in fresco paintings, architectural details, and decorative metal work. The subjects illustrated in these reliefs came from Greek myth and symbolized ideas of death, fame, and the cycle of nature. Battles, whether real or mythological, hunting scenes, marriage ceremonies, Dionysiac figures, Cupids, and sea deities celebrated the rhythm of life, death, and rebirth in the natural world.
Adapted from
DMA unpublished material, thematic label copy, Ancient Mediterranean and European Art, Education files.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
DMA unpublished material = DMA thematic label copy, Ancient Mediterranean and European Art, nd, Education files.
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1999.107
source file
cultures_and_traditions-0013.xml.nores