Roman Imperial Cinerary Urns: Production and Display

This dissertation presents results from a synthetic study of imperial Roman marble cinerary urns (cineraria, ossuaria, urnae) focused on production and display. The findings demonstrate that sculpted marble urns, despite conventional and repeated motifs, were not mass-produced in a large-scale manner assumed comparable to the production of some later sarcophagi. The dissertation argues that marble cineraria are instead products of decentralized, adaptable carving practices used by different sculptors navigating the changing early imperial Roman economy. The project further shows that cinerary urns, like other imperial marble relief sculpture, result from the same sculpting practices used in letter-cutting, suggesting the artistic contributions of a broad range of variously skilled stone-workers rather than specialists or organized workshops. Because of the factors affecting production, their appearance could be either customary or easily customized for both communal and private spaces alike.