My French Easel: Arles Archaeological Museum

The Arles Archeological Museum is a modern building housing the rich archaeological collections of the city of Arles (South of France). I took a few pictures of some stunning antique art, but the collections are broader (A 31 metres Gallo-Roman boat, amphorae, oil lamps, small objects, jewelry, beautiful scale models of roman buildings, etc.)

Building by Henri Ciriani

I managed a quick sketch of two of the statues on display.

Caesar and Hadrian

Column capital

Column shaft

Roman mosaics can be seen from a specially built elevated gallery.

“The Trinity” sarcophagus (or “The spouses” sarcophagus) – White marble

This sarcophagus has been discovered in 1974 on the side of the road to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. It is decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The spouses appear in the middle, against a seashell.

The Hunt Sarcophagus – White marble

This sarcophagus, from the third century, features hunting scenes. On the left, a boar is tormented by 3 dogs and about to be attacked by a hunter on foot. On the right, hunters on horses are catching a deer. I took a close-up photograph of each section so that you can better see the details .