Unknown, Fragments of a Sarcophagus with Muses
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California · Digital image courtesy of Getty's Open Content ProgramView original →
Unknown

Fragments of a Sarcophagus with Muses

mid-3rd century A.D.

Current Collection

J. Paul Getty Museum

Los Angeles, United States

Medium
Thasian? marble, crystalline white
Dimensions
143.5 × 151.7 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-208030

The fragmentary front of a large sarcophagus with a seated woman surrounded by Muses. The muse to the left is Terpsichore. She wears a chiton completely enveloped by a himation, and holds a lyre in her left hand. She turns toward a seated woman (probably the deceased) who wears a himation and whose foot rests on a foot-stool. She reaches to touch the strings of Terpsichore's lyre. Beside her is Thalia, wearing a close-fitting netlike garment with a mantle wrapped around her lower body. A bulla is around her neck and she wears open-toed shoes. In her left hand, she holds a lagobolon concealed by her cloak, and in her right, a comic mask. At the end, Euterpe holds the tibiae (pipes) with both hands. She wears a sleeved chiton trimmed with tassels at the hem. A short mantle is wrapped around her shoulders and tucked under her belt. To the right of Euterpe are the remains of a pillar.

Provenance

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California

Registry history

  • mid-3rd century A.D. — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum — sculpture

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