Detail of a Grave Stele in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Grave stele
ca. 340 B.C.

Greek, Attic

Pentelic marble

h. 77.0 cm., w. 37.8 cm., d. 8.5 cm. (30 5/16 x 14 7/8 x 3 3/8 in.) w. at center 35.5 cm., d. at bottom 8.5 cm. h. of unsculptured lower surface 42.5 cm., w. at bottom 37.8 cm., w. of panel at bottom 28.0 cm., d. at top right 7.5 cm.

Gift of Mrs. Ernest Sandoz

Object Number: y204

Text from: artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/ancient/search/

The missing top of this stele probably took the form of a pediment inscribed with the name of the deceased, who is surely the larger of the two female figures. She wears a long gown (peplos), belted at the waist and secured by crossed straps. The mantle fluttering behind her is fastened with pins at the shoulders. Such mantles are a feature of virgin deities like Athena and Artemis, and of young girls in imitation of the goddesses. On funerary monuments, the attire probably indicates that the deceased died before marriage. The smaller figure holding a fan and jewelry box is a servant or a slave; the disparity in their sizes indicates the heroizing quality bestowed on her mistress by death.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.