Research Catalog

Title

Roman children's sarcophagi : their decoration and its social significance / Janet Huskinson.

Author

Huskinson, Janet.

Publication

Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

135 pages : illustrations; 29 cm

Summary

• This book is the first major study of the themes which were used in the decoration of sarcophagi made for children in Rome and Ostia from the late first to early fourth century AD. It provides a selective catalogue of examples of each type, followed by discussion of how these fit into the general pattern. This allows certain themes to be identified which are virtually exclusive to children's sarcophagi.
• The second part of the book discusses the choice of subjects and how these reflect the standing of children in Roman society: to what extent, for instance, was childhood shown as a differentiated stage in life, or was it dominated by aspirations of the adult world? How is the death of a child treated in art?
• There are separate sections on the role of workshops and customers in the development of child specific imagery, and on material from the early Christian era, providing some interesting distinctions resulting from differing attitudes towards children and beliefs about life and death.

Subjects

• Children > Tombs > Rome
• Children > Tombs > Italy > Ostia (Extinct city)
• Sarcophagi, Roman > Themes, motives
• Sarcophagi, Early Christian > Rome > Themes, motives
• Sarcophagi, Roman > Italy > Ostia (Extinct city)
• Sarcophagi, Early Christian > Italy > Ostia (Extinct city) > Themes, motives

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p.126-130) and index.

Contents

1. Everyday Life -- 2. Mythological Subjects (excluding Dionysiac) -- 3. Dionysiac Themes -- 4. Marine Themes -- 5. The Muses -- 6. Cupids -- 7. Cupid and Psyche -- 8. Season Sarcophagi -- 9. Decorative Schemes and Subjects -- 10. Christian Sarcophagi -- Appendix Catalogue -- 11. Craftsmen and Customers -- 12. The Child in a pre-Adult World -- 13. The Child as Adult -- 14. The Child in the Context of Death -- 15. Other Representations and their Range -- 16. Mythological Paradigms -- 17. Cupids -- 18. Scenes which Substitute Cupid or Child Protagonists -- 19. Images of Life -- 20. Images of Death -- 21. Suitable Representations on Christian Sarcophagi -- Index of Museums and Collections -- Index of Catalogue Numbers.

ISBN

019814086X

LCCN

95041325

OCLC

• 33102741
• ocm33102741

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries