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Sarcophagus with the Abduction of Persephone by Hades
(Roman Empire )
Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus, is abducted by the bearded Hades, king of the underworld. On the left, Demeter is desperately searching for Persephone, while Hades, on the right, is taking her to his realm in a chariot. Several important gods are involved in the events: Artemis (wearing a short dress) with the helmeted Athena in the center, and Hermes (with his winged helmet), who appears twice as the accomplice of Hades. The ends of the sarcophagus are ancient but did not originally belong to this piece. They were added sometime after the sarcophagus left the collection of the famous 18th-century sculptor and restorer Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (ca. 1716-99), who displayed the front part over the doorway of his house.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Cavaceppi Family Collection, by 1772; Michel Zoppo, La Colonna, Rome, by purchase; Hesperia Art , Philadelphia; Walters Art Museum, 1965, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1978 | In Search of Ancient Treasure: 40 Years of Collecting. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 11/29/1965 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation |
| 7/20/1970 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 1/23/1978 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 1/1/1992 | Technical Report | x-ray diffraction; other |
Measurements
18 5/16 x 20 3/4 x 79 3/4 in. (46.5 x 52.7 x 202.6 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1965
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
23.219