Fragments of the marble stele (grave marker) of a woman holding a baby

Unknown

ca. 400–375 BCE · Marble · Greek and Roman Art

The well-known grave monument of a woman named Ampharete, which was found in the Kerameikos cemetery at Athens, also shows a seated woman holding a baby. That stele has a rare inscription that sheds light on the meaning of the scene: My daughter's beloved child is the one I hold here, the one that I held on my lap while we looked at the light of the sun when we were alive and that I still hold, now that we are both dead.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 400–375 BCE

Medium

Marble

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of Nicolas Koutoulakis, 1960