Fragment of a Lion Hunt Sarcophagus: Head of a Hunter in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Fragment of a Lion Hunt Sarcophagus: Head of a Hunter
Roman, ca. AD 270-280
Proconnesian marble, bluish with dark veins

# Y1993-38

This bearded man is a hunter, who originally was shown attacking a charging lion with a spear. Fragments from the same sarcophagus are in museums in Munich and North Carolina. The bluish marble comes from the island of Proconesus in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul. The large scale, high polish, skillful carving, and and subtle use of the drill testify to the magnificence of the original coffin.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.