A gracefully draped woman lies asleep on a couch. Around her forearm a serpent coils.

Her head lies back in attitude of relaxation; her slightly parted lips suggest exhaustion after a night of Bacchic ecstasy.

Her modestly-clad counterpart rests in same courtyard. At 1st, she appears 2B drunken Bacchante w/ serpent coiled around forearm. On deeper level, illustrates closeness between death & sleep [Mors/Morpheus]; & preserves fiction she's not really dead, but merely asleep. #sarcophagusSaturday
My 📸. 🏺

SARCOPHAGUS WITH THE FOUR SEASONS, 270-280 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS This sarcophagus was acquired by Pius VI for the VM from its discoverers, and now holds a prominent position in the Belvedere Courtyard. It's tub-shaped, a lenòs, and, as often happens with such sarcophagi, has two lions savaging antelopes at the curved ends. From left to right, two on either side of the central figure, stand youthful male figures representing the Seasons: Winter, fully dressed in tunic and cloak, holding up a duck he has hunted; Spring, nude but for his cloak, with one arm bearing a branch with new leaves; Summer, also nude but for a cloak, holding a herdsman's staff; and Fall, holding a container of fruit and a freshly-hunted rabbit. At centre is the young male deceased with a peripetasma or curtain behind him, held up by Spring and Summer. The face has been carved for a male, but the figure is female, in a dress and stola.

#SarcophagusSaturday at the #VaticanMuseums gives us this odd C18 display of a very toned seminude reclining woman with a #Flavian hairdo, the lid to a different #sarcophagus than the one it's on, which shows the deceased flanked by the Four Seasons (not the band). 270-280 CE. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Saturday

#RomanSiteSaturday
#CastleSaturday

#SwordSaturday

#StuartSaturday

#SarcophagusSaturday

#SteepleSaturday
#SpireSaturday

#RooftopSaturday

#ScreenSaturday

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1 of 7    #SaturdayHashtags

SARCOPHAGUS WITH THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE, 160-180 CE. GALLERIE DEGLI UFFIZI This splendid C2 CE sarcophagus in Pentelic marble begins and ends at both sides with Horæ, goddesses of the seasons. But the movement in this continuous scene goes rightward. The central conflict involves Athena, who is trying to dissuade Hades from kidnapping his niece. He's not interested. Persephone is swooning in his arms and an Eros flutters over her outstretched arm, as a sign that Hades is doing this for love. Below the chariot's rearing horses, the goddess Tellus, the Earth, is also raising a hand in dismay. In front of the chariot is Hermes Psychopompos, leader of souls to the Underworld. This subject was popular as a reference to circular time and the possibility of a return from death. To the left, Aphrodite is tugging at Athena's shield: love as the enemy of wisdom. Behind Aphrodite, two of Persephone's friends are objecting. At left is the chariot of Demeter, pulled by two fantastic serpents. She's in hot pursuit of her brother, but won't get to him in time to save her daughter from his clutches.

For #SarcophagusSaturday we have this marvellous #sarcophagus in the #Uffizi in #Florence, full of movement, showing the seizing of #Persephone by #Hades, a metaphor for the soul's journey to the #Underworld. This dates from 160-180 CE and comes from the #Medici collections. #AncientBluesky 🏺

M'he deixat el hashtag #SarcophagusSaturday

Shared for #SarcophagusSaturday

Shared for #SarcophagusSaturday

Shared for #SarcophagusSaturday

Shared for #SarcophagusSaturday

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Saturday

#RomanSiteSaturday
#CastleSaturday

#SwordSaturday

#StuartSaturday

#SarcophagusSaturday

#SteepleSaturday
#SpireSaturday

#RooftopSaturday

#ScreenSaturday

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1 of 7    #SaturdayHashtags

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday
#SixOnSaturday
#SpireSaturday
#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

Shared for #SarcophagusSaturday

Shared for #SarcophagusSaturday

SARCOPHAGUS WITH THE MYTH OF ORESTES, C. 150 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS This is an odd, ambiguous subject for a sarcophagus. Clytemnestra, queen of Mycenæ, and her lover, the king's cousin Ægisthus, murder the king Agamemnon - his wife wants revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia, his cousin wants to carry on a blood feud. Anyway their kids Electra and Orestes get riled up about this and much suffering ensues. Here at centre we find Orestes, nude except for his cape and a sword, standing over the corpse of his mother whom he has just slain. At left is Ægisthus, also dead and in an awkward position, being dealt with by Orestes' chum Pylades. Back in time, at left, an old nurse is telling Electra of her father's murder as her attendants swoon around her. To the right of the central crime scene, two Erinyes or Furies emerge from behind a curtain. Below them, a slave with a scroll tries to avoid catching their attention. At far right Orestes is escaping them, seeking absolution.

An amazing #sarcophagus from c. 150 CE in the #VaticanMuseums for #SarcophagusSaturday with an excellent buffet of ancient sculptures atop it. The scene shows the #myth of #Orestes, and corpses litter the landscape, with vengeful Orestes wreaking havoc. The House of Atreus, eh! #AncientBluesky 🏺

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday
#SixOnSaturday
#SpireSaturday
#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Saturday

#RomanSiteSaturday
#CastleSaturday

#SwordSaturday

#StuartSaturday

#SarcophagusSaturday

#SteepleSaturday
#SpireSaturday

#RooftopSaturday

#ScreenSaturday

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1 of 6    #SaturdayHashtags

SARCOPHAGUS FRONT WITH THE DOORS TO THE UNDERWORLD, 240-250 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS This profusely-populated sarcophagus front comes from Villa Peretti. At centre, under a triangular pediment supported by columns with Ionic capitals, are the two richly-carved doors to Hades, the left leaf cracked open to draw the dead in. The deceased don't seem to be in a hurry to get their afterlife underway. At left, the wife is in an open-armed praying posture, piously veiled but stylishly dressed in a tunic and stola. Behind her, urging her on, is Persephone. Similarly, her stout husband on the right (both of them are stabding in elegant arched ædicules) is wearing the toga contabulata and is staring forward as bearded Hades himself is telling him he has to go. He too is praying in the orans position, though in one hand he holds a scroll. Two naked youths on low plinths are statues of seasons, both looking up at the deceased. To everything there is a season: death now, rebirth perhaps later.

#SarcophagusSaturday at the #VaticanMuseums offers us this #sarcophagus front in hugh #relief from 240-250 CE. The doors to the Underworld are creaking open at centre and the deceased couple stand on either side in arched ædicules, notably unwilling to begin their trip to #Hades. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday
#SixOnSaturday
#SpireSaturday
#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Saturday

#RomanSiteSaturday
#CastleSaturday

#SwordSaturday

#StuartSaturday

#SarcophagusSaturday

#SteepleSaturday
#SpireSaturday

#ScreenSaturday

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1 of 6    #SaturdayHashtags

SARCOPHAGUS FRONT WITH SCENES FROM THE MYTH OF PERSEPHONE, 200-230 CE. PALAZZO MATTEI DI GIOVE A confusion of figures fills this sarcophagus front, with parallel scenes of movement in chariots at both sides and a scene of static flower-picking at centre left. Starting at centre is the small kneeling figure of Persephone, with an Eros pulling up her velificatio while another is steadying her vase. She's oriented toward the left but is looking anxiously to the right. The most dramatic scene is at right, where she is being abducted by Hades in a chariot heading rightward, preceded by Hermes, a clear reference to the soul's passage to the Underworld. Three goddesses, Athena, Artemis, and Hera, seem to be trying to rescue her, but she can't escape the clutches of Hades, who is ominously facing outward at the viewer. At left is the poignant scene of her mother Demeter searching for her. The winged figure preceding Demeter's chariot is Trepidatio, Fear.

#SarcophagusSaturday at #palazzoMattei di #Giove in #Rome offers us a chaotic scene of the abduction of #Persephone in three moments, starting at centre with the maiden innocently picking flowers, then at right where she's abducted by #Hades, and at left where #Demeter seeks her. #AncientBluesky 🏺

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Saturday

#RomanSiteSaturday
#CastleSaturday

#SwordSaturday

#StuartSaturday

#SarcophagusSaturday

#SteepleSaturday
#SpireSaturday

#ScreenSaturday

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1 of 6    #SaturdayHashtags

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday
#SixOnSaturday
#SpireSaturday
#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

SARCOPHAGUS OF HELENA, C. 320 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS The empress Helena, mother of Constantine, died in 329. Her colossal mausoleum still partially stands as Tor Pignattara, and was moved to the Lateran in 1154 so pope Anastasius II could be buried in it. It's an amazingly beautiful huge block of Egyptian porphyry carved in high relief, showing military scenes of Roman soldiers with captured barbarians, and is a masterpiece of realism, difficult to achieve in such a hard stone. Two busts on the front might be of Helena and her husband Constantius Chlorus. The lid, still intact, shows garlands held by cherubs. The military theme, inappropriate for a famously pious (and sanctified) lady, suggests that this might have been made for her husband or son. But chroniclers of the eastern empire are unanimous that she was buried along with her son in his own porphyry sarcophagus in the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. This sarcophagus might not have been made for her, and perhaps she was never laid in it. The presence of Helena recedes like a ghost, the closer you come to it.

#SarcophagusSaturday at the #VaticanMuseums gives us this masterpiece of #relief sculpture, the #sarcophagus of #Helena, mother of #Constantine, from about 320 CE. The female portrait on the front corner nearest us is probably Helena's. But was she ever buried in it? #AncientBluesky 🏺

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Saturday

#RomanSiteSaturday
#CastleSaturday

#SwordSaturday

#StuartSaturday

#SarcophagusSaturday

#SteepleSaturday
#SpireSaturday

#ScreenSaturday

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

1 of 5    #SaturdayHashtags

SARCOPHAGUS FRONT, 210-220 CE, AND FAKE SARCOPHAGUS FRONT, 1607. PALAZZO MATTEI DI GIOVE This is fun. At top we have a relief with Erotes holding not one but three separate clipei. The two central Erotes are actually holding a heavy garland of fruit which has the clipeus wedged between its ends. The two side Erotes are aided by two tritons with double tails who support the clipei from below. The sarcophagus would be far too small to contain three bodies, and the three-clipeus design is totally aberrant. This is a fake from when the courtyard was built in around 1607. The lower, more crowded sarcophagus front shows Mars striding toward the sexy sleeping Vestal Rhea Silvia, an altogether superior work in design and execution. A bevy of other gods are all watching intently. They are in attendance because the sex act about to take place will result in the birth of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

At #palazzoMattei di #Giove in #Rome, we have *two* #sarcophagus fronts but only *one* is real. The other is a C17 fake. Our #SarcophagusSaturday challenge is to decide which is which. Before I tell you the answer in the ALT text, try and guess. #AncientBluesky 🏺

For #SarcophagusSaturday, the spectacular marble monument to Maconia Severiana, Vigna Casali, Rome, 210-220 AD.

"D(is) M(anibus). Maconianae Severianae, filiae dulcissimae, M(arcus) Sempronius Proculus Faustinianus v(ir) c(larissimus) et Praecilia Severiana C(ai) f(ilia) parentes."

Saturday

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday
#SixOnSaturday
#SpireSaturday
#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

#BookwormSat
#CastleSaturday
#Caturday
#ChessSaturday
#NonFictionSaturday
#PostboxSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
#SarcophagusSaturday
#SaturdayMono
#SaturdayStatue
#SaturdayStripes
#SaturdaySwans
#SculptureSaturday
#SixOnSaturday
#SpireSaturday
#StaircaseSaturday