Roman Strigillated Sarcophagi

Abstract

Abstract This book studies of Roman strigillated sarcophagi, which are the largest group of decorated ancient Roman sarcophagi to survive. Characterized by panels of curved fluting—hence the description ‘strigillated’, after the curved strigil used by Roman bathers to scrape off oil—and limited figure scenes, they were produced from the mid-second to the early fifth century AD, and so cover a critical period in Rome, from empire to early Christianity. The book focuses on their rich potential as an historical source for exploring life in ancient Rome, approaching them in terms of social and cultural values rather than through traditional typological classifications or aesthetics. The first part of the volume examines aspects of their production, use, and viewing, emphasizing their distinctive features. The second part looks at their figured representations, concentrating on the particular opportunities the arrangement of such figures gave viewers to develop their own interpretations. The subjects represented by the figures and the flexibility with which they could be interpreted, provide invaluable insights into how Romans thought about life and death in changing times. The final part of the volume surveys their reception by later societies, since their responses also reflect back on how ancient Romans may have appreciated these sarcophagi and their designs. From as early as the fifth century AD strigillated sarcophagi seem to have been specially favoured for reuse in particular circumstances (such as elite burials and fountains), and for their references to the Roman past, imperial and early Christian.

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