Abundance & The Good Life:
The Late-Antique Inheritance (cat. 1-11)
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Relief with EndymionMarble Roman, 2nd century AD Length: 27 3/4 inches (70.5 cm.) Private Collection |
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This relief preserves the left side of a large sarcophagus illustrating the myth of the beautiful youth Endymion who was visited nightly by the moon goddess Selene while he slumbered with his flock. The shepherd seated on a rocky outcrop with his dog and livestock on our chariot fitting (cat. 1) derives from earlier standardized classical figure types like those on this marble relief. However, in Late Antiquity these stock motifs are put to a new use, with narrative subject matter often giving way to more abbreviated, emblematic representations like those on our chariot fitting.
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