Cinerary Urn
Late 1st-early 2nd century
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
a (urn): 23.1 × 53.9 × 27.6 cm (9 1/8 × 21 ¼ × 10 7/8 in) b (lid): 12.7 × 53.3 × 28.5 cm (5 × 21 × 11 ¼ in)
Classification
stone
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
29231
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This cinerary urn likely held the cremated remains of two individuals, presumably a husband and wife. The lid features portraits of the deceased flanked by symbols of the Roman goddess of love, Venus (the Greek Aphrodite), including dolphins and winged erotes, the goddess’s mythological companions. The front of the urn contains two rectangular panels, which were intended for personalized inscriptions but were instead left blank. Surrounding the panels are garland swags and an ox skull, both moti...
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...