Roman Sarcophagus – Sculpture in La Serena

The work known as the Roman Sarcophagus is a white-marble funerary receptacle associated in the historical acquisition record with the Roman lenos type. This oval or tub-shaped form, derived from vessels used for treading grapes, was adopted by Roman funerary sculpture between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. The same record identifies its reliefs as animal combats. If that identification is correct, the scenes belong to the imagery of venationes and may evoke virtus: the courage and moral strength attributed to the deceased. The lenos form also carried Dionysiac associations with wine, renewal and passage beyond death.

The evidence does not permit a definitive classification of the object installed in La Serena. Gabriel González Videla's account calls it an 'ancient copy' in white marble, while a municipal inventory describes it as a Roman original and later digital records have treated it as an undocumented 20th-century replica. These descriptions also disagree over its oval lenos form and a rectangular chest-like appearance. No identified ancient model, sculptor, workshop, palace of origin, inscription or petrographic study currently resolves these discrepancies; the association with Lysippos found in secondary records is therefore not established.

The piece was acquired in Rome from the gardens of an unidentified noble palace through the efforts of Raúl Irarrázaval, Chilean ambassador to the Holy See, and diplomat Antonio Rodríguez during the Plan Serena period. It was transported by sea to Chile and installed as part of the open-air museum on Avenida Francisco de Aguirre, inaugurated on 31 October 1952. The urban placement was coordinated by Guillermo Ulriksen and Oscar Prager with technical advice from José Manuel González Valcárcel.

The sarcophagus has been exposed to weathering, vandalism and mechanical damage. A conservation diagnosis by the National Centre for Conservation and Restoration in 2019–2020 classified its condition as very poor and warned of structural instability and a risk of collapse on its supports, recommending preventive removal. This material history is independent of the still unresolved question of whether the marble is an ancient Roman object, an old copy or a modern reproduction.