Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE B: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Sarcophagus of Adelphia
Image View:
Detail, continuous bands of narrative scenes from Old and New Testament; at center bottom, Visit of the Three Magi next to Adam and Eve
Creator:
unknown (Roman (ancient))
Location:
repository: Museo Archeologico Regionale 'Paolo Orsi' (Syracuse, Sicily, Italy)
Location Note:
Viale Teocrito, 66
GPS:
37.0764 15.2864
Date:
ca. 325-350 CE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Roman (ancient)
Style Period:
Early Christian
Work Type 1:
sarcophagus
Work Type 2:
relief (sculpture)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
white marble with blue veining
Technique:
carving (processes)
Subjects:
death or burial; funerary art; New Testament; Old Testament and Apocrypha; Roman Empire
Description:
This splendid marble sarcophagus was discovered in 1872 by Francesco Saverio Cavallari in St. John’s catacombs. Dateable from the late age of Constantine (second quarter of 4th century BCE) it was reused in the first decades of the fifth century for the burial of Adelfia (Adelphia), wife of the "comes Balerius" (Valerius). The names of the couple are inscribed on the cover, while the locket, in a shape of a shell at the center of the case, shows their portrait. Made by a Roman workshop, the sarcophagus is uninterruptedly decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament. (Source: Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi [website]; http://www.regione.s icilia.it/benicultur ali/museopaoloorsi/)
Collection:
Adjunct Module B: Italian Art
Identifier:
7A3-G-AMA-TS-A06
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Sarcophagus of Adelphia