AIUK8 no. 1 Painted funerary stele for the son of Hermaios and Kollion

Painted funerary stele for the son of Hermaios and Kollion

AIUK 8 (Broomhall) no. 1 Date: after 350 BC

Earlier inscription - son of Hermaios^[2]

Later inscription Kollion^[1]

Painting^[3]

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Greek text

References:

AIUK 8 (Broomhall) no. 1 (Translated text) (AIO) (AIUK)

IG II² 11887 (PHI)

SEG 42.64

Conze II no. 1049

Clairmont, CAT 0.836

Scholl, Bildfeldstelen no. 373

Posamentir, Grabstelen, no. 21

Translation by: Peter Liddel, Polly Low

AIO Images: 1

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Funerary

Findspot: Athens (Broomhall 1)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is one of five Attic inscriptions at Broomhall, the Scottish seat of the Earls of Elgin. They were acquired in Athens for the 7th Earl, but were not, like most of the inscriptions he acquired, included in the sale of the "Elgin marbles" to the British Museum in 1816 (cf. AIUK 4.1, no. 2 with notes). It is a painted funerary stele, used to commemorate two different individuals at different times. The later inscription, the single name "Kollion", which is still clearly legible today, was probably added at some point after 350 BC. [2] When the later inscription was added an earlier inscription was erased. Still faintly legible are the remains of a patronymic "(son of) Hermaios". His name, which will have been in the line above, has been entirely obliterated. The earlier inscription was contemporary with the painting, ca. 410-400 BC. [3] This monument is not decorated with any sculpture in relief. Instead it was painted, and very unusually the traces of the painted design remain visible in silhouette. Above the inscription there was an elaborately painted architectural feature consisting of entablature, pediment and acroteria; beneath are the traces of a painted egg-and-dart moulding. A figurative composition occupies the field beneath the inscription. On the right side, a youth stands naked except for a mantle wrapped round his shoulders. In his left hand he holds a staff. His outstretched hand holds a small winged creature, probably a bird; he looks down towards a small child. The child sits on the ground, looks upwards and reaches with the right hand towards the bird. Painted scenes are broadly similar in their design to those more normally found on sculpted monuments, but painting on a plain surface may have had the effect of making human individuals more instantly recognisable. We cannot tell for certain whether the stele was intended originally to commemorate the infant or the youth (siblings?), but the fact that the youth hands a winged creature to the infant suggests that he was the one being commemorated. The inclusion of birds and other small animals on funerary monuments heightens the impression of a poignantly intimate and harmonious domestic scene. One view is that the bird was a plaything, but another interpretation is that it symbolises the soul of the dead. For a fuller discussion of this monument and the significance of its painted decoration, see AIUK 8 (Broomhall), no. 1. For more information about private Attic funerary monuments, see AIUK 3 (Cambridge), section 3.

Added: 21 Oct 2019
Updated: 6 Apr 2022
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ID: AIO_1960