Grave Stela (400–350 BCE): Art, History and Details

Grave Stela (400–350 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Carved in high relief, the original composition of this Attic grave marker can be reconstructed by comparison with the famous stele of Hegeso in Athens. A maid, who holds a pyxis (small container for personal items) in her left hand approaches a seated matron dressed in a himation (cloak). Much of the lintel above is missing. It would have included an inscription with the deceased's name. The mood is somber and contemplative without any overt expression of mourning.

Object facts

• Title: Grave Stela
• Date: 400–350 BCE
• Culture: Greece
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: pentelic marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 128.3 cm (50 1/2 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1924.1018.a

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Leonard C. Hanna

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.