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Part of lid of marble sarcophagus with roof tile and lion spout, top overview. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
Lid with lion head
Report 2: Sculpture from Sardis: The Finds through 1975
(1978)
Cat. 179
- Date
- Late 2nd or early 3rd C. AD?, Roman
- Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
- NoEx63.010
- Material
- Marble, Stone
- Object Type
- Sculpture, Sarcophagus
- Sculpture Type
- Sarcophagus
- Site
- Sardis
- Findspot
- Findspot not recorded.
- Description
- The imitation cover tile is triangular in section and tapers toward the top. The lion’s head has round, deeply hollowed ears, and a long-haired mane with individually drilled hairs. The eyes, deeply inset near the center, had separately indicated lids, irises, and pupils. The mouth, gouged out by a single drill line, is intended to be open. Claw chisel marks are visible on the upper and under surfaces of the lid. The coarse style of carving seems to be late 2nd or early 3rd C., although this type of sarcophagus lid was used over a long period.
- Condition
Marble.
Lid is broken at both sides and back; a projecting section of the molding is preserved. On the top is a lion’s head at the end of an imitation cover tile. Eyes, muzzle, and forehead of lion are worn.
- Dimensions
- H. 0.40; L. 0.50; D. 0.44.
- Comments
- For the general type, cf. Wiegartz, Säulensarkophage, 45, 147, pl. 29a, an early example dated A.D. 150-155.
- See Also
- Bibliography
- Author
- NHR