embodying the disinterested & Roman Sarcophagus

embodying the disinterred, 2022

embroidered linen with gold leaf

The IDGAF Collective Fund 22.016

Shown here is embodying the disinterred, an embroidered piece with mediums such as gold filigree mixed in. Merriam-Webster’s three definitions of “disinterred” highlights the piece: 1) to take out of the grave or tomb 2) to bring back into awareness or prominence and 3) to bring to light. The Roman coffin from the RISD Museum that this piece responds to is overlooked as a funerary item. It is stationary and fixed not in its final resting place, but as a removed item that is reimagined as art. I want to bring to the viewers’ awareness that these are sacred, personal objects that have been bought and sold on the market.

My work is influenced by my study of Ancient Egypt, and with a bit of historical confabulation, I have imagined what is a sort of time-period-appropriate piece. Inspired by the remains of the Faiyum Mummies and depictions of Apollo and Dionysian youths, I wove together a fantasy of the person to whom this coffin belongs to.

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Sarcophagus (coffin), 2nd century CE

Roman

Marble

RISD Museum, Museum Appropriation Fund 21.074

This marble stone coffin has undergone extensive conservation, though much of it has survived. Through the design and craftsmanship, this sarcophagus likely comes from a Roman colony in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey.)

Sarcophagi from this region are often designed to show an idealized version of the owner or reflect the person’s values. The reliefs have an overall theme of masculinity and heightened male beauty. On one long side is the scene in Book 22 of the Iliad where Achilles drags Hector’s body behind his chariot with Athena ahead of him. To the far right, Hector’s family watches this scene unfold.

Stylized male figures are at each corner, starting with youth to adulthood and finally old age. Depicting a life cycle or the passage of time is not uncommon in Roman sarcophagi. There is also a hint of the seasons, with the youngest male carrying a goat like a young shepherd, a man holding a basket of bread from a harvest, and finally, an older man in a long cloak. The short ends of the coffin, there are potential clues to who the owner is - or at the very least, how the deceased thought of themselves. Two young men battle a lion on one side, while the other has two men exchanging a lyre that sits on a column. The first demonstrates masculine camaraderie, domination, and strength.

For the men with the lyre, one of the individuals may be the god Apollo – the lyre, a hint of what may have been a bow, and the single cape are things we typically associate with that deity. As the god of arts and music, the person who commissioned this coffin may have also wanted to show his level of intellect or interest in this. On the last long side, cupids hunt lions alongside dogs - another display of youth and masculinity.

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New Bedford-based historian and artist Dan Everton has been honing their skills in archaeology and digital humanities in the field. Usually found behind the camera or in front of a crowd, he has delighted others with his research and work about material culture, colonization, death, and gender & sexuality. His work has been shown in New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!, The Library Company of Philadelphia, and University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, and the Joukowsky Institute. He is a Public Humanities MA Candidate at Brown University studying Ancient History, NAGPRA, repatriation, and ethics in cultural heritage institutions. Beyond audio media and film, his artistry focuses on traditional craft and trade mediums such as weaving, embroidery, and printing.