Short answers, pulled from the story.
Roman sculpture began in the eighth century BCE and emerged from a blend of Etruscan and Greek traditions. Neighboring Etruscans created near life-size tomb effigies in terracotta that lay on sarcophagus lids propped up on one elbow like diners at a feast.
By the 2nd century BCE most sculptors working at Rome were Greek men often enslaved during conquests such as that of Corinth in 146 BCE. Their names rarely survive because sculpting was not considered a profession by Romans but accepted only as a hobby.
Trajan's Column completed in 113 CE features continuous narrative reliefs winding around its shaft to document military victories. Marcus Aurelius' column finished by 193 CE preserves similar historical scenes within stone carvings still standing in Rome today.
During the Roman Republic citizens viewed it as a sign of character to show physical imperfections rather than gloss over them. These portraits served as maps of personal history for men who remained unconcerned with vanity.
Roman marble sarcophagi mostly date from the 2nd to 4th century CE after burial customs shifted from cremation to inhumation. The Sarcophagus of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus stands as a rare example from much earlier periods before this change occurred.