• r2-144-10
    Unfinished stele (?), overview. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)

    Unfinished Stele (?) Fragment

    Date
    Roman
    Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
    S66.009
    Material
    Marble, Stone
    Object Type
    Sculpture
    Sculpture Type
    Funerary Relief, Human Figure
    Site
    Sardis
    Sector
    Syn
    Findspot
    Syn marble piles.
    Description

    A male figure, apparently a child, is only roughly blocked out. The youth stands with both feet firmly planted on the base. A curving shape on his r. side suggests that he was intended to carry a cornucopia, and a slight protuberance across his body might have been carved into a chlamys. The blocking out is done by large gouging strokes which are diagonal to the sculptural forms. Between the lower legs are two clear outlining channels made with a drill.

    The figure was not carried far enough to be identifiable but the cornucopia and chlamys, if that is what they are, suggest a seasonal putto or a child similar to the one, also in the lower l. corner, shown with Nympheros (Cat. 143 Fig. 282). This is an interesting example of unfinished Roman workmanship, but the date is not determinable.

    Condition

    White marble.

    Lower l. corner of a stele, showing a youth. His head and l. side missing.

    Dimensions
    H. 0.233; W. at base 0.117; D. 0.065; H. of base 0.035.
    Comments
    See Also
    Bibliography
    Author
    NHR