Painted limestone funerary stele with a woman in childbirth

Period: Early Hellenistic

Date: late 4th–early 3rd century B.C.

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

Accession Number: 04.17.1

Description

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.

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