The Sarcophagus of Adelphia: Detail, The Adoration of the Magi

This Adoration of the Magi is much more in tune with the iconography in place at the time than the one on the lid of this sarcophagus. The Magi wear Phrygian caps, they hold the gifts in their bare hands, and the child sits on the lap of his mother, who is veiled and seated on a throne.

As in the image on the lid and in some others of the time, the first gift has a torus shape. Sgarlata suggests that it is a jeweled crown and represents the gift of gold. The Magi wear shoes and, as always, short tunics supposedly characteristic of people living in the East. The heads of their camels can be seen in low relief behind them.

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Photographed at the Syracuse Archeological Museum, Sicily, by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.