0 favorites     0 comments    385 visits

Location

Lat, Lng:  
Lat, Lng:  
You can copy the above to your favourite mapping app.
Address:  unknown

 View on map

See also...


Keywords

art
FujiFinePixS6000fd
Empire
Roman
CA
California
2008
sarcophagus
marble
ancient
relief
museum
sculpture
GettyVilla


Authorizations, license

Visible by: Everyone
All rights reserved

385 visits


Detail of a Roman Sarcophagus with a Vintage Scene in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Detail of a Roman Sarcophagus with a Vintage Scene in the Getty Villa, July 2008
Sarcophagus representing a Dionysiac Vintage Festival
Unknown
Roman, A.D. 290 - 300
Marble
20 7/8 x 74 13/16 in.
2008.14

A lively pastoral scene decorates this oval-shaped sarcophagus. It lacks a lid, but is carved on three sides in high relief. Two lions' heads with rings in their mouths flank the central panel depicting a mythological representation of the Vindemia, a rural Roman wine festival. An assortment of Erotes, or putti--chubby, naked infants with and without wings--harvest grapes from vines overhead. At right, they stomp on grapes in a lenos, or large wine pressing trough. The sarcophagus itself imitates the shape of the container with grapes.

This chest is an excellent example of a common type of third century Roman funerary monument. The use of the running drill in carving the lions' manes and the hair of the Erotes stomping grapes, along with the sharply drawn eyebrows and drilled holes in the corners of the eyes and mouth to create a shadowing effect, are also indicative of the style of this period. Elements of symmetry, such as the repeated pose of the three Erotes in the trough, strongly suggest the sculptor used a pattern book, as was common in larger scale workshop production.

This sarcophagus transcends its function as a tomb monument by touching on themes of daily Roman life: festivals, religious beliefs, and sculptural reproduction.

Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=311978

Comments

Sign-in to write a comment.