Sarcophagus panel

Panel from a lid of sarcophagus showing the return of the hunt. The lid is now in five pieces (2 long panels, two pediments 59.148.307.1, 4, 5, and two acroteria masks 59.148.307.2 and 59.148.307.3). This long panel is thinnner than the 59.148.307.1 but long one. From the left there is a bearded man leaning onto a pole and carrying one side of a long tied net, in the middle a younger man carrying the weight of the net. A bearded man in front of him carries the other end of the net ion his left shoulder and with his right hand the lead of an animal that looks like a big dog. In front of him there is another man with his left hand raised and his head turned towards the men carrying the nets as if he is calling them or leading them. In front of him there is fenced structure with animals inside, one of the animals looks like an antelope. To the other end of the fenced or walled structure, a man has his right hand on the structure as if he is closing it and on his left hand holds a pole. This is where the sarcophagus panel lid ends. Dating of the relief in Hadrianic times was possible because of the style of curls of the tragic masks. The curls were worked by two different hands and the drill holes were used to indicate the center of the curls. The theme of the return home was introduced early in the funerary context ( from the 2nd century AD ). Hunting was for the rich elite and the inclusion of a hunt scene would also symbolise the status of the deceased. Angelicoussis considered the relief to be one of the few examples where the homeward bound procession extended towards the entire relief. For many archaeologists the theme of the return home is a summary of one life's achievements. The hunt with many naturalistic details and drawing upon an abundance of genres became popular in a funerary context from the 2nd century AD. In the 3rd century AD the attempt to make funerarly imagery more secular intensified and it was no longer necessary to refer to the great heroes and myths of hunting (Meleager, Adonis and Hippolytus ). Made from grey island marble.