The Three Graces on a fluted Sarcophagus

Abstract

At the suggestion of Professor T. B. L. Webster these lines deal with the reliefs of a sarcophagus which, through the kindness of the owner, J. Baskervyle-Glegg, Esq., of Withington Hall, Chelford, is illustrated on Plates vi–viii. It has stood in the garden of Withington Hall since it was brought from Italy by the grandfather or great-grandfather of the present owner, perhaps when on his Grand Tour.It is a fluted sarcophagus. The central relief shows the group of the three Graces before a curtain. The spaces on either side contain the figures of husband and wife, who were buried in the sarcophagus—on the left, the woman in the manner of the ‘petite Herculanaise,’ on the right, the man in classical toga. Both stand before the usual curtain (pl. vii). Only the main forms of the head are blocked out; the man was intended to have a beard. By the woman stands a little girl holding a box; by the man a boy is represented in an unusual running posture, carrying a vessel. Even if the final processes, which were still to come, are taken into account, the heads of the man and woman are disproportionately large, as is common in Roman art when the artist is a local craftsman. The corners of the sarcophagus are rounded; on each of the ends vertical fluting is followed by a pair of crossed shields, behind which axes and spears can be seen (pl. viii).