Sarcophagus with Scenes from the Life of Peter
Detail: scenes on the leftThe episode on the far left is St. Peter's water miracle: the saint strikes a rock to gain the water needed to baptize his jailers Processus and Martinian, whom he has just converted. Conceptually the new life of baptism shown here is paired with the raising of Lazarus on the far right to a new life in the flesh.
The orant (with her hands extended) is at the very center of the composition, with Peter on her left and another apostle (St. John?) on her right. Like the orant in the sarcophagus of Marcus Claudianus, she is the only one wearing shoes. As a veiled woman of some significance, she could be Mary; but another possibility is that the figure represents Ecclesia, the Church, praying for the decedent.
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Source: Weitzmann, Age
of Spirituality