Child Seasons Sarcophagus with Lid

Sculpture

-

Hammond Castle Museum

Name/Title

Child Seasons Sarcophagus with Lid

Entry/Object ID

HM-356. a&b

Tags

Pacifici purchase

Description

Seasons child size sarcophagus with lid. Carved in Rome 290-310 CE Lid has reclining young girl figure with uncarved face holding dog. Sarcophagus has robed central figure with animals & figures representing the seasons on either side. Both pieces have cracks that have been mended and small sections missing. Roman sarcophagus (a) with top (b). Relief carving of child and pet dog; front frieze in two sections of the four seasons, depicts funeral procession with offerings of baskets and rabbits. Sarcophagus possibly never used, as evident by the roughhewn face of the child--features were not yet chiseled in. John Hays Hammond Jr. used this as a diving board for his courtyard pool. Latest scholarship has identified the marble being from Greece. 1780, the Sassi brothers discovered the Tomb of the Scipios outside the walls of Rome. 1831, the underground Scipios tomb was excavated, and an 1843 illustration of excavation shows the sarcophagus. 1877, the same site was photographed, again showing the sarcophagus on display. 1828, Hammond bought it from Armando Pacifici. (2023 Dr. Robert Cohon) * see Cohon emails file in archives for more research details

Made/Created

Time Period

Roman Empire

General Notes

Note Type

HM356 a&b Season Sarcophagus (1984 condition report, vandalism)

Note Type

1977 Hammond Castle Souvenir Guidebk by N R Kline, J J Bolten (21)

Note Type

1966 Corinne Witham Guidebook (31)

Note Type

2023-08-07 Cohon - Gloucester-SeasonSarc-Provenance

Note Type

2006-02-03 artifact list w 1983 values, copy (1)

Note Type

1951 Tour Manual 009

Note Type

1928-11-24 from Armando Pacifici (windows, capitals, all purchases to date) p (1-2)