Early Christian Sarcophagi
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Early Christian Sarcophagi
Early Christian sarcophagi are those Ancient Roman sarcophagi carrying inscriptions or carving relating them to early Christianity. They were produced from the late 3rd century through to the 5th century. They represent the earliest form of large Christian sculpture, and are important for the study of Early Christian art. The production of Roman sarcophagi with carved decoration spread due to the gradual abandonment of the rite of cremation in favour of inhumation over the course of the 2nd century throughout the empire. However, burial in such sarcophagi was expensive and thus reserved for wealthy families. The end of the Christian persecutions desired by Gallienus in 260 began a period of peace for the Christians that lasted until the end of that century and allowed Christianity to spread in the army, in senior administrative posts and even the emperor's circles. In the second half of the 3rd century, especially due to increased demand from this group of wealthy Christians, the ...
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Sarcophagi Of Helena And Constantina
The Sarcophagi of Helena and Constantina are two fourth century porphyry sarcophagi located in the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum in Rome. Sarcophagus of Helena The Sarcophagus of Helena is the red porphyry coffin in which Saint Helena, the mother of emperor Constantine the Great, was buried (died 329). The coffin, deprived of its contents for centuries, was removed from the Mausoleum of Helena at Tor Pignatarra, just outside the walled city of Rome, and ultimately moved to the Vatican museums in the 18th century, and now is in the Sala a Croce Greca of the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum. The Sarcophagus is carved in the Egyptian porphyry, used only in the finest Byzantine imperial monuments. It is noted that the carved imagery depicts victorious Roman Cavalry riding above captured barbarians. It is unclear if such imagery was intended for the sarcophagus of a highly religious Christian woman, or whether the coffin was repurposed for her burial, though the latter is considered un ...
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Sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φαγεῖν ' meaning "to eat"; hence ''sarcophagus'' means "flesh-eating", from the phrase ''lithos sarkophagos'' ( λίθος σαρκοφάγος), "flesh-eating stone". The word also came to refer to a particular kind of limestone that was thought to rapidly facilitate the decomposition of the flesh of corpses contained within it due to the chemical properties of the limestone itself. History of the sarcophagus Sarcophagi were most often designed to remain above ground. The earliest stone sarcophagi were used by Egyptian pharaohs of the 3rd dynasty, which reigned from about 2686 to 2613 B.C. The Hagia Triada sarcophagus is a stone sarcophagus elaborately painted in fresco; one style of later An ...
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Sarcophagus Of Adelphia
The Sarcophagus of Adelphia is an early Christian, circa 340 AD sarcophagus now in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi in Syracuse, region of Sicily, Italy. The sarcophagus was found in the Rotunda of Adelphia inside the Catacombs of San Giovanni, in Siracusa. The iconography displayed has similarities to the layout of the Dogmatic and Junius Bassus sarcophagi, although the quality of to depictions is simplified. Description The name of the sarcophagus derives from the hypothesis that it was used for the burial of the Roman noblewoman Adelfia. The central medallion would represent a portrait of the couple, mentioned in the center of the lid by an epigraph arranged on three lines in a tabula ansata on a red background: (H)IC ADELFIA C(LARISSIMA) F(EMINA) POSITA CONPAR BALERI COMITIS ''Here lies Adelphia, famous woman, wife of Count Valerius''. The front side of the marble sarcophagus is split into two registers, typical of the style of the time, with bot ...
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Sarcophagus Of Junius Bassus
The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is a marble Early Christian sarcophagus used for the burial of Junius Bassus, who died in 359. It has been described as "probably the single most famous piece of early Christian relief sculpture." The sarcophagus was originally placed in or under Old St. Peter's Basilica, was rediscovered in 1597, and is now below the modern basilica in the Museo Storico del Tesoro della Basilica di San Pietro (Museum of Saint Peter's Basilica) in the Vatican. The base is approximately 4 x 8 x 4 feet. Together with the Dogmatic sarcophagus in the same museum, this sarcophagus is one of the oldest surviving high-status sarcophagi with elaborate carvings of Christian themes, and a complicated iconographic programme embracing the Old and New Testaments. Junius Bassus Junius Bassus was an important figure in late antique Rome, a senator who was in charge of the government of the capital as praefectus urbi when he died at the age of 42 in 359. His father had be ...
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Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34:11–16. The Good Shepherd is also discussed in the other gospels, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the First Epistle of Peter and the Book of Revelation. Biblical references In the Gospel of John, Jesus states "I am the good shepherd" in two verses, and . This passage is one of several sections of John's Gospel which generate division among Jews. Jesus Christ is also compared to a shepherd in , , , , , , , , , , and . Parable or metaphor? Several authors such as Barbara Reid, Arland Hultgren or Donald Griggs comment that "parables are noticeably absent from the Gospel of John". According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article on Parables: "There are no parables in St. John's Gospel" and according to the ''Encyclopædia ...
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Sarcophagus Of The "Two Brothers"
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φαγεῖν ' meaning "to eat"; hence ''sarcophagus'' means "flesh-eating", from the phrase ''lithos sarkophagos'' ( λίθος σαρκοφάγος), "flesh-eating stone". The word also came to refer to a particular kind of limestone that was thought to rapidly facilitate the decomposition of the flesh of corpses contained within it due to the chemical properties of the limestone itself. History of the sarcophagus Sarcophagi were most often designed to remain above ground. The earliest stone sarcophagi were used by Egyptian pharaohs of the 3rd dynasty, which reigned from about 2686 to 2613 B.C. The Hagia Triada sarcophagus is a stone sarcophagus elaborately painted in fresco; one style of later ...
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Dogmatic Sarcophagus
The Dogmatic Sarcophagus, also known as the "Trinity Sarcophagus" is an early Christian sarcophagus dating to 320–350, now in the Vatican Museums (Vatican 104).There is another "Trinity Sarcophagus" at Arles, alsao with a three-figure Trinity. It was discovered in the 19th century during rebuilding works at the basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura, in Rome, Italy. Together with the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, it one of the most important examples of Christian-Roman sculpture of the Constantinian era. It draws its name from its clear references to the dogmas of the Council of Nicaea (325), in particular to Christ being consubstantial with God the Father, as shown (for example) by the scene of a figure with the appearance of Jesus between Adam and Eve, though whether the figure is to be understood as Christ or God the Father is less clear – the dogmatic point works either way. Description The front face is split into two registers, typical of the style of the time, with Ol ...
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Sarcophagus Of Stilicho
The so-called Sarcophagus of Stilicho is a marble Early Christian sarcophagus used since before the 10th-century as the base for the pulpit of the church of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, Italy. It appears to have been made between 387 and 390, two decades before the namesake general Stilicho's death, and is thus likely not associated with him. The sarcophagus probably does not contain the body of Stilicho. Description The sarcophagus was carved from marble from quarries near Como, but appears to date stylistically from circa 390 and the reign of Theodosius the Great.Early Christian and Byzantine Art
by John Beckwith, , Slobodan Ćurčić; page 46.
The sarcophagus has solid ...
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Santa Maria Antiqua
Santa Maria Antiqua ( en, Ancient Church of Saint Mary) is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for a long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces. Located at the foot of the Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Antiqua is the oldest Christian monument in the Roman Forum. The church contains the earliest Roman depiction of ''Santa Maria Regina'', the Virgin Mary as a Queen, from the 6th century. History Built in the middle of the 5th century on the north-western slope of the Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Antiqua is the earliest and most significant Christian monument within the Roman Forum. The church contains a unique collection of wall paintings from the 6th to late 8th century. The discovery of these paintings have given many theories on the development of early medieval art and given distinctive beliefs in archaeology. The church was abandoned in the 9th century after an earthquake buried the buildings; i ...
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Sarcophagus Of Livia Primitiva
The Sarcophagus of Livia Primitiva is an Ancient Roman stone coffin with ornamental engraved with a Latin text and figures of the Good Shepherd, a fish, and an anchor and was originally housed in the Louvre. Initially thought to be an ancient Christian sarcophagus, but now it is thought to be pagan. Description The Sarcophagus was originally discovered in the Ostrianum and Vatican Cemetery. The good shepherd is seen with one sheep on each of his sides. There has been speculation on the religious origins of the Sarcophagus of Livia Primitiva. It was thought to be Christian because the artwork was tied to Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ..., but later evidence strongly suggests that this artifact was built for a Pagan entombment. Livia Primitiva was 24 ...
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