Limestone funerary relief
Tarentum (modern Taranto) was a wealthy Greek colony on the southeast coast of Italy, a pivotal location along the trade routes between Greece and Italy. During the fourth century B.C., ostentatious grave monuments in the form of small temple-like buildings decorated with painted sculpture filled the city cemetery. This relief must come from such a building. It represents a young warrior and a woman standing by an altar. Between them is a vase for pouring a libation on the altar. On the wall behind them hang a cuirass, a helmet, and a sword, presumably the arms of the dead warrior for whom they mourn. It has been suggested that the relief illustrates a scene from Greek tragedy.
Artwork Details
- Title: Limestone funerary relief
- Period: Hellenistic
- Date: ca. 325–300 BCE
- Culture: Greek, South Italian, Tarentine
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: H. 23 1/16 in. (58.5 cm); width as preserved 21 1/8 in. (53.6 cm)
- Classification: Stone Sculpture
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1929
- Object Number: 29.54
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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