• Roman-era stone sarcophagus repurposed as water system infrastructure in Rovio, Switzerland; photographer Rick Graves

Sarcophagus

Regular price $25.00 USD

SARCOPHAGUS is a black-and-white landscape photograph of a village courtyard in Rovio, canton of Ticino, Switzerland, taken during the photographer's years living abroad. At center, a Roman-era stone sarcophagus — its sides carved from a single massive block, its interior hollowed and worn smooth — has been repurposed as a water trough, set into a shallow arched niche in the ancient stone wall; to the right, a smaller stone basin mounted on the wall receives a thin stream of water from a metal pipe, the village's working fountain still in use; a vertical drainpipe runs down the left wall; the courtyard floor is worn flat stone, the walls rough and patched across centuries of repair; the image is a quiet lesson in the long view — a vessel made to hold the dead, now holding water for the living, in a village that sees no contradiction.

The image is an original fine art photograph by Rick Graves, scanned from the original negative, printed on exhibition-quality paper with Epson SureColor pigment inks. Hand-packed and shipped from our local post office in Spring Green, WI.

Options: 

  • matted prints are behind an acid-free white mat board with backing — ready for standard-size or custom frames 
  • unmatted prints may be rolled and shipped in a tube 
  • blank cards with envelopes are also available — contact us for details
  • prints are $25 + $15 S&H — or free local pickup

Rovio64025 | ©Rick Graves for aBoBoBook; all rights reserved
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