Limestone fragment of a sarcophagus

Limestone fragment of a sarcophagus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This piece once formed one of the long sides of a sarcophagus. The symmetrical decoration consists of two small bulls that flank two wreaths. At the upper corners of the panel a ring is carved in relief, imitating the handles of a chest. The style of the panel shows the influence of woodcarving. Stone funerary architecture often imitated wooden constructions, and this sarcophagus was probably based on a wooden prototype.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Limestone fragment of a sarcophagusLimestone fragment of a sarcophagusLimestone fragment of a sarcophagusLimestone fragment of a sarcophagusLimestone fragment of a sarcophagus

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.