Ancient Roman Marble Fragment of a sarcophagus with the image of Phaethon. 2nd – 3rd century AD. 17.2 cm length. Spanish

Fragment of a sarcophagus with the image of Phaethon.

Ancient Roman, 2nd – 3rd century AD.

Marble.

17.2 cm length.

CONDITION: Unrestored fragment, in good condition.

PROVENANCE:

- Private collection, UK, established in the 1980s.

- Private collection, Cambridgeshire, UK, until 2024.

DESCRIPTION:

Fragment of a Roman relief carved in marble, with the bottom excavated to enhance the volume of the motifs. Under a protruding flat profile, which frames the image, appears the figure of the young Phaeton driving his father's chariot. Dressed in a long-sleeved tunic and himation, in profile to the right, he shows his hair loose, with thick wavy locks that end at shoulder height. He extends his right arm to hold the reins, in front of which the mane of a horse can be seen, moved by the wind. The relief combines carving with trepanning work on elements such as the curls, the eye and the corners of the mouth, thus enhancing the volume and details of the representation. Due to the format, closed by a protruding lintelled band at the top, it can be deduced that this fragment would have been part of the ornamentation of a sarcophagus, more specifically one of the continuous friezes common on the top of these objects.

Son of the sun god Helios, Phaethon went to his father, offended by Epaphus, son of Zeus, who had questioned his divine origin. In other versions of the myth, the details are changed, although Phaethon's reason for seeking Helios is always to confirm his paternity, that is, to confirm the legitimacy of his divine lineage. To do so, Phaethon asks Helios to drive his chariot for a day; the god is aware of the danger this entails, but finds it impossible to refuse and finally agrees. Unable to control the horses of the sun chariot, Phaethon causes disaster in his wake, burning some lands and freezing others; Zeus is then forced to intervene, throwing a bolt of lightning to stop his race and thus causing his death.

The story of Phaethon is a common theme in the decoration of Roman sarcophagi (Fig. 1), as a symbol of the ubiquity of death but also of mourning, since the Greek myth gave great importance to the mourners who mourn the death of Phaethon—his companion Cycnus and his sisters, the Heliades. It has also been speculated that the myth served, according to the Roman interpretation of the Greek myth, as an example of virtue for the deceased.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

- BORG, B.E. “No one is immortal: From exemplum mortalitatis to exemplum virtutis”, in Wandering Myths. De Gruyter. 2018.

- KOORTBOJIAN, M. Myth, Meaning, and Memory on Roman Sarcophagi. University of California Press. 1993.

PARALLELS:

Fig. 1 Front of a sarcophagus with the fall of Phaethon. Roman Empire, 2nd century AD. Marble, 179 cm long. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, inv. ГР-11304.










Notes:

- The piece includes authenticity certificate.
- The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested, can take between 1-2 weeks maximum.
- The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.