The above are three
photos of a single one-piece sarcophagus. The part above the
break line that runs along the surface is a 20th century
restoration. Click on the images to see enlargements of the left, middle, and right photos.
Here are the
museum's notes on the piece:
This sarcophagus was
carved about 312, when Christianity was first recognized as a legal
faith within the Roman empire. The two legendary scenes of Saint
Peter's arrest in Rome and the miracle of drawing water from a rock
performed in his jail cell are among the earliest surviving images
depicting his special relationship with that city. In the scene of his
arrest, carved in a powerful, deep relief at the left end, Roman
soldiers grab his arms. In his cell, soldiers kneel at his feet as he
uses a wand, now partially lost, to extract water from the walls. Scenes from the life of Christ are
represented on the right. When
the sarcophagus was published in 1879, only the figures' lower legs
survived. An incorrect identification of the figures then led to an
inaccurate restoration, in 1910, of the upper portion of the scenes
carved in low relief. Originally four scenes from the life of Christ
decorated the sarcophagus—the Entry into Jerusalem, the Cure of the Man
Born Blind, the Multiplication of the Loaves, and the Raising of
Lazarus. In the modern restoration, the Cure of the Man Born Blind was
omitted and his feet used for the small frightened child depicted in
the Entry into Jerusalem. Roughly carved in very low relief on the ends
are two Old Testament events—the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace,
considered by the early church a foretelling of humankind's salvation
through Christ, and Adam and Eve after the Fall by the Tree of
Knowledge, representing the sin for which Christ will save humankind.