Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE C: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus [plaster cast]
Image View:
Detail, top register; center, Christ Enthroned
Creator:
unknown (Roman (ancient) sculptor)
Location:
repository: Musei Vaticani (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy) Inv. N. 31648
Location Note:
Museo Pio Cristiano
GPS:
41.906389 12.454444
Date:
cast 1911 (creation); original, 359 CE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Roman (ancient)
Style Period:
Early Christian; Imperial (Roman)
Work Type 1:
sarcophagus
Work Type 2:
relief (sculpture)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
patinated plaster
Technique:
casting (process)
Measurements:
1.4 m (height) x 2.4 (length) x 1.0 m (width)
Subjects:
death or burial; funerary art; New Testament; Old Testament and Apocrypha; Constantine, Emperor of Rome
Description:
Plaster cast of a marble Early Christian sarcophagus used for the burial of senator and city prefect Junius Bassus, who died in 359. Inscriptions say he was a neophyte ('neofitus', newly baptized). The sarcophagus was originally placed in or under Old St. Peter's Basilica (which had been recently built by Constantine), and rediscovered in 1597. The original is now located in the Treasury Museum of Saint Peter's; this cast is in Museo Pio Cristiano. It is a "column" style sarcophagus, with sculpted columns and pediments or entablatures dividing two registers of both New and Old Testament scenes. It is one of only two extant double-register columnar Early Christian sarcophagi, and shows a combination of carving styles and both Christian and Roman iconography. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordart online.com/)
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module C: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-R-VM-GPM-SJB-A02
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus [plaster cast]