Catherine Taylor: Educated Susanna: Sarcophagi, Female Orans and the Typology of Woman Wisdom in Late Antique Art and Iconography

Although there has been an abundance of textual analysis on the Book of Daniel and Susanna’s narrative, there has been little attempt in late ancient art history to analyze the iconography of Susanna in connection with the typology of Woman Wisdom and the representation of deceased Christian female figures. The development and conflation of these typological elements on early Christian sarcophagi and memorial art are largely unconsidered, especially in light of their shared iconographic heritage. This paper addresses these shortfalls by examining artistic evidence, Sapiential texts and patristic commentaries, including a new translation of a previously unpublished papyrus manuscript by Didymus the Blind (Commentary on the Psalms 26.1-29.1 trans. Lincoln Blummel, forthcoming), to demonstrate the nuanced uses and popularity of the Susanna story during late antiquity.

Fourth-century sarcophagi and memorial gold glass, including examples held at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, are examined in this paper. This evidence demonstrates that late antique Christians used the type of Susanna, not only as a trope for divine salvific intervention or as an archetype for conjugal fidelity, but also as a model for female literacy and education, exemplary components of Christian piety.