This is an uninscribed funerary stele from the outskirts of Autun, preserved in the Museum of that city. The deceased can be seen, certainly a professional musician, dressed in a wide cloak with broad sleeves, holding in his hand a long tibia. To his right an instrument of six or seven pipes decreasing from right to left is depicted. One is entitled to think this is an organ rather than a large syrinx, the latter being normally arranged in the opposite direction. A wind chest supports the pipes and the whole appears to rest on a table; neither cistern nor plinth can be distinguished. This is in all probability a small pneumatic organ.
The Funerary Stele of Autun
Romainbehar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Date:
3rd century AD
Location:
Museum of Autun, France
Author:
Anonymous
Technique and materials:
Carved stone
Dimensions:
Height 105 cm
Provenance:
Outskirts of Autun
Sources:
The Hellenistic-Medieval Organ by Jean Perrot









