Grave Stele (Relief) (c. 50 BCE): Art, History and Details

Grave Stele (Relief) (c. 50 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The multiple figures, inscription, use of perspective, and architectural frame distinguish this ambitious relief as one of the most important of its type. The Greek inscription on the base reads, “To Sbardia, also named Tate, Eumelos, son of Aphrodisios, her father, [set this up].” The deceased is shown seated on an elaborate chair. A servant girl holding a fan suggests Sbardia’s high social standing. At the bottom right corner, a hen perches on an upturned basket, a symbol of “the good life.” The stele incorporates a “springing” gable supported by engaged half columns with simplified Corinthian capitals. Other features relate to beliefs about mortality and the afterlife. Above and to the left of her chair is her winged psyche (soul) shown leaving her body. Figures of the three fates are shown in the pediment above, reminding us that human life is finite.

Object facts

• Title: Grave Stele (Relief)
• Date: c. 50 BCE
• Culture: Southern Anatolia, Pamphylia, Hellenistic Greek
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 73.6 x 42.5 cm (29 x 16 3/4 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 2005.52

A detail from the museum

The seated woman is depicted larger to visually emphasize her importance; her servant is in the background.

Collection credit

Gift of James E. and Elizabeth J. Ferrell

Further reading listed by the museum

• Christie's. Antiquities. December 18, 1997. Christie's: New York, 1997. Lot 173.
• Rudolf, Käne. Antike Kunstwerke aus der Sammlung Ludwig 3. Mainz/Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern (1990).
• Sotheby's. Antiquities: The Property of the Thétis Foundation and Other Owners. May 23, 1991. Sotheby's: London, 1991. Lot 250.

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.