SARCOPHAGUS A LENOS, C2-C3 CE. PALAZZO BARBERINI The sarcophagus a lenos, "tub-shaped", allowed wealthier people a showier coffin without corners, capable of being put on a base and admired from all sides. Three notches on the far rim show where the heavy lid would have been attached. The form is that of an elegant tub, complete with lion heads holding marble rings in their mouths, alluding to the portability of the real tub, which would be used for stomping grapes to make wine. The strigillation is continuous, alluding simultaneously to the river Styx, the river Oceanus that was thought to gird the world, as well as the cyclical nature of time, and the ripples in the wine that brings sleep, a metaphor for death.

#SarcophagusSaturday takes us into #palazzoBarberini in #Rome to see this beautiful tub #sarcophagus in white marble surrounded by continuous #strigillation. This is an elegant #Dionysiac coffin: here the wave forms represent wine as well as the circular nature of time, and more. #AncientBluesky 🏺