This white marble rectangular Roman Chest is pictured in a three-quarter view with the longer side of the chest closest to us. On the long front panel, a blank inscription plate occupies the top center. Two long-tailed dolphins carved in bas relief, one on each side, arch their backs around the sides of the inscription plate. The dolphins’ heads, with mouths full of sharp teeth, almost meet in the center below the plate. The short side of the chest has a single large bas relief of what appears to be a shell. On the top of the box, the roughly carved inside of the box is just visible.
Roman
Rectangular Cinerary Chest,
27 BCE - 81 CE
Pentelic marble
,
16.5 x 26.7 x 21.6 cm (6 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
Object details
Accession number
S3e23
Primary Creator
Roman
Full title
Rectangular Cinerary Chest
Creation Date
27 BCE - 81 CE
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by 1915.
Dimensions
16.5 x 26.7 x 21.6 cm (6 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
Display Media
Pentelic marble
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Blue Room
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 28. (Roman, 1st century [CE])Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 38-39, no. 51. (Roman, Julio-Claudian or early Flavian period)
Rights and reproductions
The use of images, text, and all other media found on this website is limited. Please review Rights and Reproductions for details.
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.