Male figure sarcophagus lid
Photogallery
Male figure sarcophagus lid
A male figure is represented supine on the bed, in a relaxed pose, having participated in a banquet; one arm is folded under the nape of the neck while the other, extended along the body, holds a garland. He wears a tunic and cape over his head, adorned with a smooth crown. The face is broad, with characteristic large eyes with raised discs for the irises.
Traces of the original polychrome decoration have been discovered: the red flesh tones stand out against the paleness of the drapery (white lime with traces of pigments); the eyebrows, irises and hair are marked in brown and the sclera in white.
In the mid-Hellenic period, faced with the decline in the corresponding sculptural work, coroplastic artists maintained high quality and formally autonomous production of sarcophagi, evidenced mainly in Tuscania and to a lesser extent in Chiusi. The Tuscania workshop that produced this lid adheres to classical stylistic canons, although with original reworkings that tend to surpass them in proportions and realism, as can be seen in the rendering of the limbs, the stylised drapery, and the disc-shaped irises in relief, which suggest a surprising modernity to the contemporary observer.