THE ICONOGRAPHIC PROGRAM OF THE LATE ANTIQUE SARCOPHAGUS OF "PIGNATTA" IN RAVENNA: CONCORDIA APOSTOLORUM?

The article examines a possible interpretation of the iconography of concordia apostolorum, engraved on the left side of the late antique sarcophagus called "Pignatta", found in the suburb of the late antique sedes imperialis Ravenna (Italy). The sarcophagus has been the subject of continuous scientific discussion related to its Eastern provenance and various iconographical interpretations. The article points an implicit interrelation between the theme of the ecclesiastical concordia of principes apostolorum and the imperial political propaganda emphasizing the unity and inseparability of the Empire and it illustrates this connection on examples and iconographical comparison with other late antique artefacts (e.g. sarcophagi, gold glasses, coinage). It demonstrates that the meaning of concordia apostolorum fits into the framework of mental and political paradigm of the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries when an effort to express the unity of the Church strongly reflected the imperial program and that a common veneration of S. Peter and Paul was broadly diffused also in the East, in Constantinople a presumed place of origin of the sarcophagus.