• Sarcophagus with relief floral decoration



Sarcophagus with relief floral decoration
Sarcophagus with relief floral decoration
Sarcophagus with relief floral decoration

Sarcophagus with relief floral decoration

Γ387
White marble
Intact, much scattered minor chipping on relief
Length: 243 εκ Width: 95 cm. Total height: 151 cm.
Malia
Found under the high altar of a Christian basilica at the Marmara site
Roman period:
Late 2nd-early 3rd c. AD:
Gallery:
XXVII
Case:
Not in case
Exhibition thematic unit:
Sculpture. Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd c. BC) Roman period (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD)
Description
Exceptionally well-preserved sarcophagus, probably imported from Attica, with relief decoration on all sides. Besides the decorative floral and geometric filling motifs (scale pattern on the gabled lid, acanthus leaves on the sides, astragal bead-and-reel border and Ionic cymatium, scrolls and palmettes), the main theme, carved in higher relief, is a garland of fruit, leaves and ears of corn running around the centre of the sarcophagus. The garland hangs in festoons, bound with ribbons and supported at the joins by flying Cupids on the long sides and bucrania at the corners. The gap between the festoons is filled with frontal Medusa heads on one long side and lions’ heads on the others. The pediments on the narrow sides are carved with two opposed lions with a central bull’s head on one side, and an eagle with half-open wings among floral scrolls on the other. On the narrow sides are preserved pairs of notches for the iron hinges securing the lid to the body of the sarcophagus. When found, it contained two skeletons of later inhumations of the 3rd century AD with a few pieces of jewellery as grave goods. It seems that in the Early Byzantine period (5th-6th c. AD) the dead were believed to be martyrs, and the sarcophagus was moved to a crypt under the high altar of a Christian basilica.
Bibliography:
S. Alexiou, Οδηγός Αρχαιολογικού Μoυσείου Ηρακλείου, Athens 1968, 134. H.van Effenterre, "Le sarcophage attique à guirlandes de Mallia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 100 (1976), 525-553. Ν. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου, Athens 2005, 362
Author:
K. S.


Photographs' metadata