Merovingian late antiquity tombstone. Merovingian funerary art.

Gravestone in fossiliferous limestone representing a woman with long braids holding back a part of her dress and holding an object with the other hand, probably a crown. Feet in pointed shoes rest on a cushion. The scene presented probably evokes a high-ranking woman resting in a sarcophagus. This sculpture is a continuation of the Gallo-Roman gravestone of late antiquity, but is distinguished by the details of clothing (dress) and the general staging which leads us to place it in the 5th century, in the very high middle ages.

If we find this type of hairstyle at the time of Faustina the Younger and Julia Domna in the second half of the 2nd century or Plautilla at the beginning of the 3rd centusry, the style has continued and the treatment is here in barbarian style, and illustrates the adoption by the Germanic barbarian peoples of local Gallo-Roman customs. The two long plaits are also typical of the period. The dress confirms this hypothesis with comparisons towards the end of the 4th century, in particular on the diptych of Stilicho (Cathedral of Monza).
Books consulted: The study of organic materials in the tombs of the early Middle Ages, Florence Carré, Antoinette Rast-Eicher, Bruno Bell and Julien Boisson, 2018 - Fortuitous discovery of ancient stelae in Niederhergheim (Haut-Rhin), Dominica Bonneterre, Sylvie Dardaine, Soline Morinière, Juliette Rémy, Georges Triantafillidis and Marie-Dominique Waton, 2019 -Römische und frühchristliche Grabsteine, Marion Mattern, 2010.

Origin: East of France

Medium: Fossiliferous limestone

Size: Height: 75cm Width: 30cm Depth: 18cm

Period: 5th century

Condition: Erosion, small stabilized cracks

Price: on demand

Ref.219