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Painted limestone funerary stele with a woman in childbirth

late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 162
The dying woman leans back, supported on either side by an attendant. Her torso and arms are naked, while two garments—one reddish and one pink—cover her lower body. The composition and subject of the painting derive from Classical Greek grave reliefs. This stele was found in the same underground tomb as the adjacent tomb marker and it probably once served as a funerary monument above ground.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Painted limestone funerary stele with a woman in childbirth
  • Period: Early Hellenistic
  • Date: late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
  • Culture: Greek
  • Medium: Limestone, paint
  • Dimensions: Height: 29 7/8 in. (75.9 cm)
    Other: 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm)
    Width: 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm)
  • Classification: Miscellaneous-Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904
  • Object Number: 04.17.1
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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