Discuss the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (Closer Look) in terms of its social and artistic significance.

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Elaborately carved sarcophagi became popular among wealthy Romans during the second and third centuries CE, when popular burial practices shifted from cremation to inhumation. This popularity led to the establishment of large production workshops throughout the Roman empire that turned them out by the thousands. These sarcophagi, such as the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, were often encrusted with sculptural relief. The sarcophagus is covered with ten biblical scenes, each composed in its own, shallow architectural space defined by columns, entablatures, gables, and arches. Junius Bassus was a Roman high official and that in one image of Christ he is the Cosmocrator, ruler of the Cosmos.