Budapest Régiségei 34. (2001)

STUDIEN = TANULMÁNYOK - Djurić, Bojan: Production of marble sarcophagi in Poetovio 47-62

BOJANDJURIC PRODUCTION OF MARBLE SARCOPHAGI IN POETOVIO Poetovian marble sarcophagi have never been discussed as a whole, as Poetovian ossuaries have been.

1 On the one hand, this is probably because they are extremely fragmented; on the other hand, they have always been mixed with the most similar form of funerary monuments - ossuaries. Among the many preserved fragments, only two are complete.

2 A whole receptacle is preserved from a third,

3 while the majority of others have been reduced to smaller pieces used as building material for medieval houses in Ptuj. Consequently, Poetovian sarcophagi are not well known, and they have never been recognized as a specific and significant group of Pannonian sarcophagi. Sarcophagi are one of the more popular forms of funerary monuments in Poetovio. Among the mostly non-epigraphic sarcophagi made of sandstone,

4 those made of white Pohorje marble, having an inscription on the front panel and a decoration, often also on both lateral sides, predominate. The majority is, in terms of form, as well as production perhaps (as determined or proved by E. Diez,

5 A. Cermanovic,

6 G. Koch-H. Sichtermann

7

), closely affiliated with the much better preserved ossuaries. Rajko Lozar,

8 in his dissertation supervised by A. Schober, was the first to systematically deal with Poetovian sarcophagi. However, among the nine examples cited from Ptuj,

9 only one was a sarcophagus.

10 His determinations are thus valid only for ossuaries, and only as far as they are similar to sarcophagi. As his dissertation was never published, the first and only discussion incorporating Poetovian sarcophagi was that by A. Cermanovic.

11 In her inventory, among the seven sarcophagi cited from Ptuj,

12 only two are actually sarcophagi.

13 The other five are ossuaries

14 or other forms of funerary monument.

15 G. Koch and H. Sichtermann repeated,

16 in almost identical manner, the mistakes resulting from using unverified determinations from older sources.

17 As well as the number of ossuaries, the number of sarcophagi increased extraordinarily with new discoveries and new investigations.

18 According to the material preserved in museums and elsewhere, 29 marble sarcophagi or their appurtenant parts were determined in Poetovio and its respective ager.

19 This newly determined corpus could be divided according to their form into three distinctive groups: 1. Frieze sarcophagi 2. Low, wide sarcophagi with a tripartite front panel divided into a rectangular central field and two narrowly profiled rectangular lateral fields 3. Sarcophagi with a tripartite front panel having a profiled central field and raised extrusive lateral fields, of which profiled frames terminate in a NoricoPannonian volute. The first group of frieze sarcophagi is represented by only one fragmentary piece: the front panel of a sarcophagus

20 portraying the banquet of two deceased. Both are sitting on the kline, the husband on the right and the wife on the left (Fig. 1). The relief is carved in a sunken field with a narrow trim. The details preserved indicate that the trim was finished in the same simple manner on the right as well as (probably) on the left. The lower part of the relief carving is broken off at the level of the interior floor of the sarcophagus, which is a typical consequence of the stratified structure of Pohorje marble. The surface of the relief carving is badly damaged and consequently, the details of the scene are poorly visible. Two putti are laying garlands around the necks of the seated deceased.

21 In front of the kline stands a (probably) three-legged round table, analogous to those in similar scenes on sarcophagi from northern Italy.

22 Sitting in a chair to the left and beside the kline is probably a female figure, such as those seen on sarcophagi from Rome,

23 perhaps a musician.

24 A female figure seems to be portrayed on the right side of the table as well, probably in a similar seated position. A female figure standing behind the seated one is placing her right hand upon the shoulder of the seated female and holding an object in her left hand. She is probably a servant, as there is another corresponding standing figure on the left side of the scene, holding one object in her raised right and another in her lowered left hand. A standing figure to the far right, who probably had a double on the now damaged left side, faces away from the main scene and raises an unidentified object in her hands. Two linked cylindrical objects with rounded, conical tops (cippi ?) are shown in front of her, similar to those on the atticized Beirut sarcophagus.

25 The entire scene unwinds under a curvy vine that besets the central composition of the banquet from both sides. The leaves have five blades and are carved with deep incisions. Such leaves are evidenced on numerous other Poetovian monuments, and the small clinging tendrils have a specific simple form. The second group of Poetovian marble sarcophagi is represented by two complete examples. The first, now in the Museum Joanneum (Graz), is probably from the Hajdina cemetery.

26 Z. Subie discovered the second at the Zgornji Breg cemetery in 1967, undamaged

27 (Fig. 2). Both sarcophagi display identical formal character47