Images(2)

Sarcophagus Fragment

Artist Unknown

Datesecond half of the 3rd century

Mediumwhite marble with added paint

Dimensions21 x 28 1/2 x 17 in. (53.3 x 72.4 x 43.2 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes)

Object numberG.79.11.8

On View

On view

Label TextThis marble fragment was once part of a tubshaped sarcophagus that contained the body of the deceased. Sarcophagus burials were rare in the Roman world before the second century because Romans practiced cremation. The use of sarcophagi was influenced by the ancient Greeks and Etruscans, who had buried their loved ones in this manner at different points in history. It cannot be determined whether this sarcophagus belonged to someone of pagan or Christian faith.

Like most marble sculpture in antiquity, this fragment was once painted. Traces of pigments were detected in the recesses of the carving.

[C. Rocheleau, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceProvenience unknown. [Edward H. Merrin Gallery, New York]; sold to NCMA, 1979.Published ReferencesEdgar Peters Bowron, ed., Introduction to the Collections (Chapel Hill: published for the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, by The University of North Carolina Press, 1983), illus. (b-w) 60.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions,” November 8, 1979-May 1980.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Reflections on Light: Works from the NCMA Collection,” September 9, 2020–August 15, 2021.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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