Let's end our long tour of the Metropolitan Museum's Greco-Roman galleries with this showstopper: a Roman Third Century highly-carved marble sarcophagus. There are forty human and animal figures carved in high-relief. At center, Dionysos, the God of Wine, sits astride a panther. A satyr and other Bacchic figures surround him.
Flanking Dionysos, are four human representation of the Four Seasons, two on each side of him. Usually, such symbolic representations employ females. In this case, however, the sculptor(s) portrayed male youths. From left to right we have Winter (holding a brace of ducks), Spring (carrying a basket of flowers), Summer (carrying wheat) and Autumn (bearing a cornucopia of fruit).
On the left end of the sarcophagus, shown above, we find "Tellus" (Mother Earth) attended by smaller figures bearing fruit.
On the right end, shown above, we see a male figure, "Oceanus," a river god.
Shown above, we see a detail of the panther's head and forequarters.
This piece was carved in Rome, from a piece of marble quarried in the Eastern Mediterranean. Only a very wealthy aristocrat could have afforded such a luxuriously-produced work of art. The piece was once owned by the Dukes of Beaufort. In 1733, the piece was installed in their county seat, Badminton House, in Gloucestershire, England. It is rare to find such a sarcophagus—of large and flamboyant design—in such (nearly) perfect condition. The handsome pedestal was designed at the time it was installed in Badminton House.
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