3-095-867 - "Royal Academy of Arts, London"/Heritage Images

Cast of front panel of sarcophagus with griffins, late 18th century-early 19th century. Cast of the front of the chest of a sarcophagus, or stone coffin, now in the Galleria Lapidaria of the Vatican Museums. The sarcophagus panel shows two griffins who face each other and flank an acanthus calyx. At the corners of the sarcophagus are lit candelabra. The griffin was an animal who would protect the monument and the memory of the dead. It was a popular motif on tomb monuments of all types in the Roman period. The candelabra are both ceremonial furniture and references to light in the dark. The sarcophagus is unusual in showing two griffins on the front panel. The cast was from the collection of Thomas Lawrence which was sold on 10 May 1830.