STONE SARCOPHAGUS WITH ROOF LID. ETRUSCAN, C. 325-250 BCE. BRITISH MUSEUM This sarcophagus is striking for its lid, each end decorated with a sphinx. Knotted snakes lie across its centre. Female heads decorate the angles of the pediment with antefixes below. Along both sides are antefixes with female heads. All sides of the chest are decorated with floral and animal designs in low relief. Inturning figures appear at both ends of each long side: here we see a winged female, perhaps one of the Lasas (attendant divinities), holding a hammer and probably a nail, which when struck into a wall symbolises finality and time fulfilled. The male figure is a winged soldier. At centre is an inscription with the name of the deceased, which unfortunately is Vel Urinates.
#SarcophagusSaturday at the #BritishMuseum offers us this splendid stone #sarcophagus in #nenfro, a volcanic #tufo, with a lid like a pitched roof with a #sphinx at each end. The box itself has two figures on each side, male and female. It was once stuccoed and painted all over. #AncientBluesky 🏺
