Abstract

The visual representation of the Trinity at the creation of Adam and Eve arguably appears among the relief sculptures of two early Christian sarcophagi, one now in Arles, the other in the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. The significance of showing all three persons of the Trinity (in the form of adult males), is both amplified and reinforced by aspects of the entire sculptural composition of both sarcophagi, including a compositionally parallel and spatially juxtaposed presentation of the three magi arriving to present their gifts to the Christ child. Taken as a whole, the iconographic programs of both sarcophagi appear to reflect the doctrine of the economy of salvation and the role of the entire Trinity in the activity of the creation and restoration of humanity.

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