Sarcophagus with a Greek Physician

Sarcophagus with a Greek Physician

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The tomb's owner is shown seated with an open scroll, the pose of a philosopher, demonstrating that he is a learned man. His profession can be identified by the open case containing surgical tools on the cabinet top. Other scrolls and a basin for bleeding patients within the cabinet offer further proof of his profession. The style of his dress and the language of the inscription indicate that he was one of the many Greeks living in Italy. Beginning in the 300s, Christians would adopt in their art the philosopher pose and the undulating motifs, or strigils, that appear on the sides of the sarcophagus.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sarcophagus with a Greek PhysicianSarcophagus with a Greek PhysicianSarcophagus with a Greek PhysicianSarcophagus with a Greek PhysicianSarcophagus with a Greek Physician

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.