Grenoble Archaeological Museum | Gravestone of Populonia
< Back to Table of Contents This inscribed slab of carrara marble dates to the late 6th to early 7th century and was discovered in 1920 in the Saint-Ferjus cemetery in La Tronche, Grenoble. The cemetery is only about 1km to the east of Saint-Laurent and the slab is close in date to the carving of the capitals in the Saint-Oyand crypt . Although the decoration here is incised and that of the capitals is executed in false relief, there is a similarity in the decorative choices. Here we see a two-handled vessel, or cantharus, sprouting swags of luxuriant foliage. On each side there is a bird of some description, looking over its shoulder. While the intention must have been to create a symmetrical composition, the vine on the right swoops noticeably lower than the one on the left, sufficient for a leaf to touch one of the birds. The composition, down to the noticeable lack of symmetry, are reminiscent of the 2nd century parakeet mosaic in the Musee del’Ancien Eveche . While the...