Fragment of a Greek Grave Stele in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Fragment of the marble stele (grave marker) of a youth
Greek, Attic, ca. 530 BC
Said to be from Athens

Accession # 12.158

A nude image of the deceased youth projects in high relief from the concave, red background. He stands erect, left foot forward, in the same position as the nearby three-dimensional statue of a kouros (youth). The stele is carved in a marble with gray striations that was quarried on Mount Hymettos, just outside of Athens.

Two more fragments of this stele have recently been identified in Athens- one with the left hand, the other with the chest and upper arm. Plaster casts of these two pieces (Agora S1751 and NM 4.808) are juxtaposed with the Metropolitan Museum's stele in the adjacent photograph [not pictured here.]

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.