Sarcophagus with Scenes from Scripture: Detail, the woman with the flow of blood
330 A.D.
Forward edge of a sarcophagus lid
Musée Réattu, Arles, France
This is a common subject in the sarcophagi of the 4th century, drawn from Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-29, and Luke 8:43-44. A woman suffering from a continuous flow of blood for many years is cured when she touches the hem of Jesus' cloak. When he asks who touched her, she falls trembling at his feet. He consoles her with the words, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has saved you."
As in all other 4th-century examples, she kneels rather than falling down on the ground and Jesus' consoling words are signified by his placing his hand on her head. It is also conventional to put a scroll in his other hand to signify his authority and to picture his cloak ("himation" in the Greek) as shaped like a toga.
Some examples are like this one in adding a disciple with his head turned toward Jesus as if to speak. In the Mark and Luke the disciples express surprise that Jesus would ask who touched him when there is such a press of people around them.
Read more about images of the woman with the flow of blood.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
