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Roman Sarcophagus

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Submitted By vpineda10
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When it comes to dealing with a deceased person, the body can be treated in two different ways. You can either cremate the dead body, which consists of burning it to such extent that the only thing remaining would be its ashes, or you could burry the body which is known as inhumation. In ancient western civilizations, deciding wether to burry or burn the body was determined by the tradition and culture of a civilization in a particular period of time. Although the method of commemorating the dead varied throughout different societies, it was clearly an important topic to all ancient Mediterranean societies. Due to its importance, a lot of cultures devoted a great amount of time to create marvelous artefacts that would commemorate the dead. A great example of this was the Roman sarcophagus, which was widely used during the 2 century A.D. This bathtub shaped coffin made of marble usually adorned by intricate detailed high relief sculptures was often seen as an astounding work of art yet it was part of what was really known as a mass market industry that had great economical influence in the Roman Empire. In this paper I will focus on how some funerary art, more specifically the Roman Sarcophagi were a clear example of how a design product that was part of a business ended up rising to the level of art.

Take for instance The Triumph of Dionysus and the four seasons , an outstanding funerary Roman sarcophagus made of marble

The Triumph of Dionysus and the four seasons is a great example of an outstanding Roman funerary art piecev

1. The Marble Sarcophagus of Dionysus is an antique object made of pure white marble. The sarcophagus is approximately 47 ½ inches high and its width is about 92 ½ inches. Its shape is somehow rectangular since the width is greater than the height. However the edges are not straight edges, they are

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