Sarcophagi


	Sarcophagi

The earliest Christian sculpture was also connected with the dead. Most Christian burials were in shrouds, not in coffins, or they were buried in plain, undecorated sarcophagi. But since rich Romans were buried in sarcophagi, wealthy Christians followed the Roman custom. The earliest carved sarcophagi use some of the same themes seen in catacomb paintings -- the orant, the good shepherd, and Jonah.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
marble, 4th century

This famous and elaborate sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, a Roman Prefect who was baptized on his death bed, depicts a number of Christian themes in two rows with the scenes separated by colonnades. The scenes include (top) the Sacrifice of Isaac, Peter's Arrest, Giving of the Law to Peter and Paul, Ecce Homo ["behold, the man"], Pilate Washing his Hands; and (bottom) Job, The Fall, the Entry into Jerusalem, Daniel, Paul on the way to his martyrdom. The placing of the scenes is also important. The two central scenes may indicate the Christian adoption of motifs inherited from Roman art: Christ's entry into Jerusalem has parallels with the new Roman monarch's processional entry into his city and Christ as King with the cosmos at his feet parallels the world-wide sovereignty of the Roman Emperor often depicted in classical art. While this sarcophagus depicts events in Christ's Passion, note that neither the crucifixion nor the resurrection are depicted; the representation of these events began to occur later in Christian art.

All images marked ^MAS were photographed on location by Mary Ann Sullivan. All other images were scanned from other sources or downloaded from the World Wide Web; they are posted on this password-protected site for educational purposes, at Bluffton College only, under the "fair use" clause of U.S. copyright law.

Page maintained by Gerald W. Schlabach, gws@bluffton.edu. Last updated: 28 October 1997.

	Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus marble, 4th century
	This famous and elaborate sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, a Roman Prefect who was baptized on his death bed, depicts a number of Christian themes in two rows with the scenes separated by colonnades. The scenes include (top) the Sacrifice of Isaac, Peter's Arrest, Giving of the Law to Peter and Paul, Ecce Homo ["behold, the man"], Pilate Washing his Hands; and (bottom) Job, The Fall, the Entry into Jerusalem, Daniel, Paul on the way to his martyrdom. The placing of the scenes is also important. The two central scenes may indicate the Christian adoption of motifs inherited from Roman art: Christ's entry into Jerusalem has parallels with the new Roman monarch's processional entry into his city and Christ as King with the cosmos at his feet parallels the world-wide sovereignty of the Roman Emperor often depicted in classical art. While this sarcophagus depicts events in Christ's Passion, note that neither the crucifixion nor the resurrection are depicted; the representation of these events began to occur later in Christian art.