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Title / Description: Catacombs of St. Sebastian, Decoration of a columbarium
Location / Provenance: Rome, Italy
Date: 3rd c. CE
Commentary: The Catacombs of St. Sebastian consist of a large network of galleries stretching to four different levels. Seen here is a columbarium, a niche used to store the earthly remains of the deceased. The niche is decorated with pastoral scenes of nature, a motif borrowed from pagan art and popular during the 3rd century CE when this fresco was made.
Bibliography:
Leonard V. Rutgers, Subterranean Rome : in search of the roots of Christianity in the catacombs of the eternal city. (Leuven : Peeters, c2000)
Author of Commentary: Adam Mendelson
Source: Harold Attridge slide collection.
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