Finial of a marble stele (grave marker)

Unknown

ca. 525 BCE · Marble, Parian · Greek and Roman Art

The pair of volutes on this finial is carved with extraordinary sensitivity. The crowning element, which is missing, may have been a palmette or a sphinx. The latter is less likely, given the limited size of the volute block. The reported discovery of this piece near the beautiful fragment with the head of a youth raises the possibility that both originally belonged to the same stele.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 525 BCE

Medium

Marble, Parian

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1944