Sarcophagi after Constantine. Part four

The sarcophagus of Junius Bassus marks the high point though not the end of this particular branch of funerary art, for, under the emperors Theodosius and Honorius, many such sepulchres were still being produced. Some of the movement and vitality is lost in later examples, however, and the figures are lined up, rigid and statuesque, with Christ, as lawgiver or conqueror, dominant in the centre. These figures often show a characteristic helmet-like hairstyle, bunched up on the nape of the neck and marked rather mechanically with holes made by the drill.

Eyes are narrowed to an almond shape with the pupil regularly set in the middle; drapery is arranged in stiff and formal folds. An example of this style is furnished by the sarcophagus of Probus, contained in the Vatican grottoes. The front is divided, by semicircular arches rising from barley-sugar columns, into five niches.

The central niche, larger than the rest, contains the figure of Christ, youthful but august, standing on the mount of authority and flanked by Peter and Paul. With his right hand Christ holds a jewelled cross, while in his left he clasps the scroll of his law. Each of the other niches contains a pair of apostles who, in courtier-like fashion, turn to acclaim Christ as the risen and divine Law-giver, a theme which is continued on the narrow ends of the sarcophagus. In order to avoid any interruption of this majestic frieze the full-length figures of husband and wife clasping hands have necessarily been relegated to the back of the sarcophagus, where they occupy the central position flanked by two rectangular frames containing wavy strigillations.

This 'all-over' decoration of the sarcophagus is thought to imply eastern influence, mediated perhaps through Milan. Certainly Milan and North Italy provided a number of sarcophagi which date from the end of the fourth century and stress the theme of Christ, the victorious lawgiver, and his council of apostles. The most famous example is the so-called 'Sarcophagus of Stilicho' in S. Ambrogio, Milan (fig. 42).

42. Milan, S, Ambrogio. Sarcophagus of Stilicho: Old Testament patriarchs ranged beneath the chi-rho sign

This great chest of marble, carved in high relief on all four sides, finishes in a triangular pediment at both ends. The well-tried Christian emblems find their place on the richly decorated surface together with a conventional choice of Old Testament themes. But the essential message is conveyed by Christ, who stands raised on his mountain pedestal with a lamb below his feet and a small figure crouching in reverence at either side. The apostles are ranged, in stiff and timeless fashion, facing their Master and backed by the towers and ramparts of the Eternal City which is theirs to guard. The whole statuesque panorama, with its anticipations of the Middle Ages, seems designed to answer the questions 'Where shall wisdom be found?' and 'By what authority doest thou these things?’

At St John's, Verona, there is another sarcophagus of the late fourth century, on which the action is played out before a framework of rounded arches alternating with rectangular doorways supported by columns. Christ is shown four times as a curly-haired young man whose gestures, in a tableau which ranges from the conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well to the betrayal by Judas, are nevertheless those of power. Then, as though set on a different plane of historical truth from the lively realistic scenes of his ministry, Christ stands, bearded and august, on a lofty pedestal and raises his hand in declaration of his sovereignty.

An even clearer essay on the subject of Christian authority can be found on certain sarcophagi named, after a town in Lydia, the Sidamara group. These sarcophagi, carved by Asiatic workmen but coming from a number of workshops, reveal a characteristic pattern. They are large, and the surface of all four sides is divided into an arcade of niches by means of columns, channelled in spirals throughout and ending in Corinthian capitals. The capitals in their turn are surmounted by an impost, or second order of carving, usually worked in a special manner with an eggshaped device in the top half and an inverted trident below. Within the niches, ornamented in a rich lacelike pattern by means of the drill, stand full-length figures, facing front and, by contrast with their exuberant background, rather stiffly posed.

The earliest examples of this type are pagan in character, but the style also answered well to Christian requirements, as shown on a fragmentary sarcophagus brought to Berlin from Constantinople. Here a beardless Christ, with curly hair and a nimbus round his head, holds himself firmly in the conventional attitude of an orator, with right arm clasped across his chest and the ample folds of his toga. The apostles are distinguished from Christ by their short, cropped hair and the absence of a nimbus. Framed in somewhat narrower niches, they turn towards him as to the source from which they draw their power.

The Sidamara sarcophagi are a group clearly marked off by regional characteristics, and the same may be said concerning those of Aquitaine, which have a look all their own with rounded base and a top made up of two, sometimes four, steep slopes. Christ may appear in the centre with apostles, stylized and isolated, at each end, but most of the surface is covered with vines, ivy and a varied assortment of plants and geometric patterns. Perhaps Syrian influences may be traced here rather than those of Italy and southern Gaul.

The sarcophagi made from porphyry, the blood-red marble quarried in the Egyptian desert, stand somewhat apart from the others. There is, first, a series made at Constantinople for members of the imperial house. These sarcophagi take the form of rectangular chests with high-pitched lids having acro- teria, or plain wing-like additions, raised up at the corners. Usually nothing is carved on the surface beyond a monogram, and dignity is secured through plain, regular line and quality of material rather than by any attempt at decoration.

Very different are the sarcophagi of Helena and Constantina, mother and daughter of the emperor Constantine. These vast and majestic tombs testify more to imperial pride than to any new-found piety and indeed it may be questioned whether Helena's sarcophagus, which bears no emblem of religious character at all, ever did contain her body. The account given by Eusebius indicates that Helena set out on a pilgrimage to the holy places of Palestine towards the end of her life and that her funeral took place with great pomp at Constantinople, but western traditions connect her death and burial with Rome and it is in the Vatican that her sarcophagus is now installed. This is a rectangular chest with an elaborate lid, also rectangular at first but changing half-way up into the base of a pyramid. Along the sides of the chest are carved figures of Romans and barbarians in conflict. Horsemen gallop bravely, as on some monumental column, while barbarians fall headlong or walk away, captive and bound, in an attitude of melancholy detachment.

But the whole frieze gives the impression of a series of studies rather than of any particular battle scene. The lid is decorated with garlands held in place by cherubs; near the top corner, four other winged figures recline with garlands and animals at rest between them.

The sarcophagus of Constantina (fig. 43) retains the motif of garlands at the base of the lid, but the resemblance in decoration ends there. For the surface is dominated by an intricate pattern of stylized vine- stems into which are fitted cherubs actively engaged in gathering the grapes or trampling an enormous pile of them in a press. With this scene of Dionysiac exuberance, and the hope of future blessedness which it implies, two peacocks, birds of immortality, are completely in accord. Other birds in the vine-branches and a rather lumpy sheep complete the picture while from above, on the lid, four graceful portrait heads, one apparently that of Constantina, look calmly out over this assurance that the best is yet to be. The body of Constantina was brought to Rome from Asia Minor after her death in 354 ad and a circular mausoleum, the church of S. Costanza, was built to enclose her tomb.

43. Rome. The sarcophagus of Constantina: cherub gathering grapes