An ancient Roman marble child’s sarcophagus, the central medallion with an unfinished bust framed in a wreath held by two flying erotes each flanked by additional erotes, their quivers and bows below.
Ca. early 3rd century AD.
The portrait bust in the central medallion of the front panel was left unfinished in antiquity. While traditionally explained by practical matters – such as the financial insolvency of a patron or time constraints – recent scholarship has embraced the notion that unfinished sarcophagi may have been intentional. These reasons may include a change in Roman attitudes away from public achievement toward private spirituality or philosophical and religious ideas which prompted new ways of looking at the human body and visual images. For a discussion of the phenomenon, see J. Huskinson “’Unfinished Portrait Heads’ on Later Roman Sarcophagi: Some New Perspectives,” Papers of the British School at Rome, vol. 66, pp. 129-158.
Formerly in a New York private collection; acquired in London.
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