3-044-413 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Anthemion of a Grave Stele, about 320 BC. Floral Crown for a Grave Monument. Additional Info: Greek funerary monuments sometimes consisted of a tall rectangular shaft of marble crowned by an anthemion, a decorative floral element. Early examples of this motif from around 500 BC took the form of simple palmettes, but over time the carving became deeper and more ornate. This anthemion is composed of two half palmettes with a long-stemmed flower between them, rising on thick stems from a bed of acanthus leaves. Rosettes decorate the volutes under each palmette. Even the molding separating the anthemion from the stele below is ornately carved with three separate elements.