Sarcophagus (lid) (c. 100–125 CE): Art, History and Details

Sarcophagus (lid) (c. 100–125 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

On this lid, four reclining women symbolize the seasons, arranged in right-to-left order: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, as indicated by their dress and the contents of their baskets.

Object facts

• Title: Sarcophagus (lid)
• Date: c. 100–125 CE
• Culture: Italy, Rome, Roman Empire
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Greek marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 210 cm (82 11/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1928.856.b

A detail from the museum

From the Greek word for “flesh-eating,” sarcophagus is now used generically for “coffin.”

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
• Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.

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.