Arretine Krater Augustan, ca. 30 BCE – CE 14 Pottery 85.130 Gift of Mr. Joseph Audi, the Renee E. and Robert A. Belfer Philanthropic Fund, Mrs. Thomas O. Mabbott, Mr. Gawain McKinley, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Mier, Charles and Dorothy Mullett, Hazel Riback, Arthur J. and Betty D. Robins, Dr. Irwin Vladimir
Terra Sigillata Bowl Roman, late 1st – early 2nd c. Pottery 59.6 Museum Purchase
Piriform Jug with Applied Decoration Roman, Tunisia, Thysdrus (El Djem), 200-250 CE Pottery 73.208 Gift of Professor and Mrs. David Soren
Published: Handbook, no. 99
The Arretine krater is mold-made and depicts ten nude, male figures, both mature and youthful, in various poses. Several stand, one is seated on the capital and top of an Ionic column, another on a pile of rocks with shield at his side; a bearded man sits on a throne. The story behind the scene is unknown but is probably mythical. The importance of the krater is two-fold. First, before this vase was known, only fragments of the scene had survived in sherds from other vases, and the krater had been erroneously attributed to the workshop of the potter Rasinius, rather than to that of M. Perennius Bargathes. Second, the krater is an illustration of Neo-Attic Augustan art. The proportions of the figures, the modeling of the anatomy, and the nudity of the figures are characteristic of Neo-Attic style, as are aspects of the composition: the wide spacing of the figures, the heads virtually all on the same level, and the neutral background essentially without landscape elements.
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The piriform jug has applied decoration of vertical palm-branches framing figured scenes. On one side, a lion attacks a venator, or hunter; on the other, a hunter picks up a panther. These scenes are perhaps to be thought of as taking place in a wild-beast show, or venatio. Vessels of this shape seem to have been made mainly for local use and perhaps served as mementos of the shows. All these vases are examples of monochrome red-gloss wares, which were the standard fine tablewares used throughout the Roman world. The production of such wares commenced in the East where black-glazed pottery began to be superseded by red-gloss wares in the mid- 2nd century BCE at Pergamon. A second red-gloss ware known as Eastern Sigillata A was produced in Syria. (University of Missouri excavations at Tel Anafa in the Upper Galilee have provided abundant examples of this ware.) In Italy, locally made black-glazed ware remained popular until near the end of the 1st century BCE, but local red-gloss wares were being made in the early 1st century BCE, and by ca. 30 BCE large-scale production of Arretine ware at Arretium (Arezzo) reached its full development. Both plain and relief wares were made, the latter from molds. The term "sigillata" means "stamped" and signifies that the decoration was stamped into the mold. Frequently, the name of the potter or owner of the workshop was included. Arretine ware, unlike earlier wares, was regularly stamped with a name, as on this Arretine krater, which bears the name of the potter M. Perennius Bargathes. The small bowl, 59.6, is stamped with the name of the potter Amabilis (F stands for fecit, Latin, he made [it]). Arretine ware flourished for a comparatively short period, ca. 30 BCE - CE 60, but it was widely exported from Britain to India and stimulated imitations both in the East and the West. In the East, factories in Asia Minor produced the closest imitation of Arretine. In the West, Gaulish workshops, the first established ca. CE 10-15, gradually took over the Arretine market. South Gaulish terra sigillata decorated wares were widely exported to the Western Mediterranean world until the early 2nd century. Central and East Gaulish potteries flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and the wares were popular in the North. In the first century, terra sigillata began to be made in Spain but was mostly not exported except to the area of Morocco. The other great area for production of pottery was North Africa. From the end of the 1st century until well into the 7th, various workshops produced a series of red-slipped wares that were exported all over the Roman Empire. African Red Slip ware, as it is called today, differs from the Italian and Gaulish terra sigillata; the clay is generally coarser and lighter in color and does not have the high gloss surface of the earlier wares. The piriform jug, 73.208, is an example of African Red Slip ware. (MAA 7/99)
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Head Vase Mid-1st c. BCE – mid-1st c. CE Pottery 68.414 Weinberg Fund
Published: Handbook, no. 90 Barbara L. Johnson, "A Glazed Head of a Girl," Muse 4 (1970) 39-42
Cup Western Asia Minor (?), Ca. 25-75 Pottery 72.56
Published: Handbook, no. 88
Roman green-glazed pottery from Anatolia (Asia Minor) was produced by workshops located at Tarsus, Smyrna, and in the southwest at a site that may be in the region of Labraunda. The green glaze is a departure from the long tradition of glazed pottery in red and black. The technique, which utilized lead, was evidently known to the Babylonians and Assyrians. It appears to have been rediscovered by the Romans who used it in Asia Minor workshops for only a very short period of time, from approximately 50 BCE to about CE 75. In Italy and Gaul lead-glazed wares were produced in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The shapes and decoration of the early vases show influence from silver vessels.
The practice of making head vases dates back to Greek times and even earlier and was adopted by the Romans who produced some interesting examples that were more individualized than the Greek types. This head vase was made in a two-part mold as can be seen from the ridge which extends on each side from the flat, round base to the rim. The color of the vase varies from the typical green-glaze to a yellowish buff. The difference in color may have been an accident occurring during production, rather than being intentional. An interesting and significant feature is the girl's hair style which is drawn up into a knot on the top of her head and from which rises the neck of the vessel. The hair style is an aid in dating the vase, since it was known to be popular among the Romans in the late 1st century BCE
The cup bears a design of sprays of olive in relief. (MAA 7/99)
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Amphoriskos Roman, 1st c. BCE Rock crystal in modern gold mount 71.126 Ex colls. Morrison, Haseltine, Walker, Brummer, Gutman
Published: Andrew Oliver, Jr., "Rock Crystal Vessels in Antiquity," Muse 7 (1973) 29-35
Rock crystal is colorless quartz, a hard stone, with a hardness of seven. Because of its hardness it can be highly polished and will not easily scratch and abrade. Like obsidian, agate, alabaster and many marbles, it was a difficult stone to work, but nonetheless ancient craftsmen have been carving vessels from rock crystal since before the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE The earliest known rock crystal vases from the ancient world are five fragmentary jars excavated from a site in Anatolia and dating to the 19th or 18th centuries BCE
The shape of this amphoriskos was determined by the form of the quartz crystals, elongated hexagonal shafts. Presumably the craftsman first bored out the interior using a hard abrasive, possibly diamonds, which were well enough known at the time. Pliny, the 1st- century Roman author, says that Naxian emery was the customary abrasive for finishing gems, so perhaps emery was used to grind and polish the exterior. The mouth of the vase is missing, and the neck has been ground down to nearly the level of the top of the handles. The foot is intricately carved, although partially hidden by a modern gold mount.
Although this vase is small, not all rock crystal vessels in the Roman period were of such small proportions. Pliny mentions a dipper that cost 150,000 sesterces, and two cups which Nero, in a rage, smashed to pieces. Some large vessels still exist today in other museums of the world.
Vessels continued to be carved from rock crystal even after the end of the Roman Empire. Many superb examples survive from the Fatimid rule in Egypt (CE 969-1171), incorporated into royal or ecclesiastical treasuries in the West. (MAA 7/99)
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Strigil Roman, Near East (?), Imperial Bronze 70.248 Museum Purchase
Aryballos with "Dolphin Handles" Roman, 2nd c. BCE Glass 91.262 Gift of Gawain McKinley
Flask Roman, 1st c. BCE Bronze 74.143
Both the Greeks and the Romans used the strigil for removal of oil and dirt from the skin. They applied oil to the skin, and then scraped it off. Strigils and oil container--an aryballos (see the Early Greece case) or a glass bottle like this one--were a regular part of an athlete's equipment when he went to the palaestra or to the baths. In Greek art, many representations on pottery show young men carrying their oil flask and strigil, or the vase and strigil are shown hanging in the background in scenes with young men. A famous sculpture, the Apoxyomenos, by the Greek sculptor Lysippos shows an athlete scraping himself. (See Cast Gallery for a cast of this sculpture.) Women also used a strigil for cleaning and shaving. Bronze oil flasks have been found together with strigils. An athlete's toilet set in the British Museum consists of two strigils and a bronze flask linked together on a bronze hoop, the bronze flask preserving three chains, two for the handles and one for the stopper. The museum's flask retains one link of a chain still attached to its stopper. It, too, was probably once part of an athlete's toilet set. The earliest Greek strigils date to the mid-6th century BCE; they are a common grave offering in the graves of men. Although most strigils are made of bronze or iron, some of silver, electrum, bone, and ivory are known. The handles are sometimes decorated with floral designs or figurines, and many bear an inscription with the owner's name. The Museum's example has XX engraved on the inside of the handle. The meaning of this is unknown. (MAA 7/99)
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The God Sabazius from a Votive Hand 1st – 3rd c. CE Bronze 71.139 Museum Purchase Published: E.N. Lane, "A Syncretistic Statue," Muse 8 (1974) 34-37
Votive Hand Dedicated to the God Sabazius 2nd or 3rd c. CE Bronze 64.21 Museum Purchase
Published: E.N. Lane, "Two Votive Hands in Missouri," Muse 4 (1970) 43-48
"The name given to the fusion of various divinities in a polytheistic system is syncretism ... it remains a salient characteristic of late paganism, and one of the cults which it characterizes particularly is that of Sabazius" (Lane, Muse 8 (1974) 34). The god Sabazius is shown wearing typical "Phrygian" dress: sleeved tunic, soft cap, long trousers, and boots. He stands on a ram's head, and above his head appears a crescent moon with a knob at each end. The statuette was made for attachment to the palm of a large votive hand dedicated to Sabazius, a more elaborate example of the hand on display. The dress is typical of Sabazius statuettes, but the crescent moon with knobs at each end is associated with the god Men, a lunar divinity, as can be seen on the figures of Men on exhibit. The Sabazius statuette thus attests a syncretism with Men and offers archaeological confirmation of a passage, written by Proclus in the 5th century, which hitherto had alone attested a connection between the two gods. The Museum's figure is one of two, or possibly three, statuettes that attest this syncretism. A bronze human hand adorned with magical symbols was a customary dedication to Sabazius, a god whose worship originated in the Near East and spread from there to the west during the later Roman Empire. The hands are fashioned with the fourth and fifth fingers bent inward and the thumb and first two fingers outstretched. The gesture is still used today for giving blessings in the Latin church. The hands were apparently not only votive gifts to the god but were also used in the ceremonies connected with the cult. Some of them were made so that they could be set on poles and perhaps carried in procession. The museum's hand, for example, is hollow and has a hole for the nail to fasten the hand to a wooden pole. The magical symbols on the hands dedicated to Sabazius relate to the god and his cult.
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The hand on exhibit has a central scene on the palm with a man making a libation on a small altar. Animals shown are a turtle, ram, lizard, cicada, and snake, all customary attributes of the god. On the back a small procession scene is shown, a unique feature for these hands. (MAA 7/99)
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The God Men Anatolia, Probably 2nd c. CE Bronze 83.68 Weinberg Fund
Published: Lane, E.N., "Two Portrayals of the Moon-God Men," Muse 18 (1984) 55-61.
Lane, Eugene, “A Men Miscellany: Three New Objects Concerned with the Moon-God Men,” Muse 31-32 (1997-1998) 90-101.
Lawrence, Patricia, “A Bronze Septimius Severus at Saitta, Issued by Charikles: An Avatar or an Acolyte for the Moon-God Men?” Muse 42 (2008) 31-42.
Appliqué with Bust of the God Men Anatolia (?), 2nd c. CE (?) Bronze 89.61 Weinberg Fund
Published: Lane, Eugene, “A Man Miscellany: Three New Objects,” Muse 31&32 (1997-1998), 91-98.
In Roman times, Men was an important god in Anatolia. His cult was one of the official cults of many of the cities in that region, as is shown by coins bearing his image, issued by many cities. He is almost always shown wearing a soft cap, chiton (tunic) bound at the waist, cloak or mantle, and boots. He is always identifiable by the crescent moon which springs from his shoulders. The small statuette shows Men standing facing front, with his weight resting on the left foot. In his raised left hand he once held a scepter, now missing. In his outstretched right hand he holds a bowl of fruit, evidence of his function as a god of fertility, the bringer of agricultural wealth. Besides the usual tunic and cloak, he wears pants called anaxyrides. An unusual feature is the double belting of his chiton. The long chiton is drawn up and tied around his waist. Folds have then been pulled out to form a pouch which was belted a second time. The horns of the moon project from his shoulders. The moon also identifies the little appliqué as Men.
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Bronzes representing Men are scarce, not surprisingly since he was primarily worshipped by people who were not wealthy. Besides this museum's bronzes, so far known are two busts and two full-length statuettes. The double-belted chiton is worn by Men on coins of a number of cities. The way it is represented is closest to that seen on coins of the city of Nysa in Lydia, where Men was extensively worshipped and where numismatic evidence indicates there was a temple. This statuette is evidence of the influence of the cult statue of Nysa on the iconography of Men. (MAA 7/99)
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Spoon with Greek Dedication to the Goddess Hecate Roman, unknown, 2nd or 3rd c. CE Silver 74.147 Museum Purchase
Published: E.N. Lane, "A Spoon for Hecate," Muse 16 (1982) 50-55.
Hecate, an ancient chthonian, or underworld, goddess was a nurturer of children, powerful in courts of law and assemblies, grantor of victory in war and athletic contests and success in fishing, cattle-breeding and horsemanship. She is associated with the world of spirits and with sorcery and black magic. Worshipped at crossroads (in Greece generally places where a side road met a main road), she is rarely represented in art.
This silver spoon bears a pricked inscription. The Greek text reads: "Eutyches, the walnut dealer, gave (this) as an offering to Hecate at the (cross) roads." The translation "at the (cross) roads" is not certain but makes the most sense.
The use of spoons for eating was coming into use after 200 BCE but did not become widespread until the first century after Christ. There were two types of spoons in common use, the cochlearium, used for eating snails, eggs, and shellfish (cochlea, Latin for snail), and the larger ligula, whose handle generally ends in a finial and whose bowl is offset from the plane of the handle. The museum's spoon is a ligula, which dates, on stylistic grounds, to the 2nd or 3rd century. Inscribed spoons are not, however, common before the 4th century.
Some inscribed spoons were given as gifts on special occasions such as birthdays or christenings, others are votive. Some bear Christian symbols and inscriptions and may have been used for the administration of communion. Why Eutyches chose to give a spoon to Hecate remains a mystery. Perhaps spoons were used in the cult of the goddess. Spoons with Christian inscriptions were almost certainly used for the administration of communion, and meals were offered to Hecate at crossroads. (MAA 7/99)
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Attis Roman, Turkey, Late 1st to 3rd c. CE Bronze, silver 76.32 Museum Purchase
Published: Handbook, no. 93 E.N.Lane and W.H. Barnes, "A Statuette of Attis and his Cult," Muse 11 (1977) 38-46.
The cult of the god Attis can be partially understood from this bronze figure. Probably intended for a household shrine, Attis is shown dancing and holding a cornucopia. The figure is identified by his one-piece garment--a long-sleeved tunic, slit to expose belly and genitals, with trousers (known as anaxyrides) buttoned on the legs, the usual clothing of the god.
The cult of Attis and Cybele, the mother-goddess with whom he was closely associated, originated in Anatolia (Asia Minor) and from there spread throughout the Mediterranean world, being officially introduced into Rome in 204 BCE The iconography of most of the existing representations of Attis is based on his festival, which in its full form apparently celebrated his madness (induced by Cybele), self-castration, death, and resurrection. His return to life was celebrated on March 25, the day called Hilaria. This statuette, with its silver-plated eyes, is associated with the Hilaria because of its joyful, dancing stance. The pinecone and laurel leaves in the cornucopia symbolize immortality and victory over death. The attribute of the cornucopia is unusual, as are the wings, which suggest a syncretism with Eros or Cupid, also usually shown as a pudgy youth. (MAA 7/99)
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Relief Mirror: Paris on Mt. Ida Roman, Ca. 130-160 CE Gilded bronze 77.124 Gift of Professor and Mrs. Chester G. Starr in memory of Dean Thomas A. Brady
Published: Biers, Jane, "The Judgement of Paris: An Excerpt on a Roman Relief Mirror," Muse 26 (1992) 31-45.
On the back of the mirror, the Trojan prince Paris waits for the arrival of the goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite whom he is to judge for their beauty. He sits in a rocky landscape with his dog at his side, watching over his cattle. The trees to left and right and the small shrine in the background emphasize the country setting. A small winged figure leans on his shoulder. This is Eros, son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. His presence is a visual reminder of the choice that Paris will make. He judged Aphrodite to be the most beautiful of the three goddesses, because she promised him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. This judgement precipitated the Trojan War.
The scene is iconographically interesting for the light it sheds on the relationships between artists working in different media. The composition is very similar to two large marble reliefs, one showing just Paris and Eros, like the mirror, the other including the goddesses and Hermes. The mirror is thus an example of influence from monumental arts on the so-called minor ones.
This mirror is one of a small group of Roman mirrors with plain, round, reflecting surface of polished high-tin alloy of bronze and gilded bronze scenes on the back. The location of the workshop (or shops) for production of these mirrors is not yet known, but Anatolia and North Africa have been suggested. Since few of the group have been found in excavation contexts, the date of the group has been difficult to establish. A few mirrors were excavated from graves that date to the 2nd century, and this fits the stylistic comparisons with other works of art which seem to belong also to that century. A date for the group in the 2nd century thus is preferable.
The subjects of the reliefs are often appropriate for mirrors. Thus, the Three Graces were popular, as was Venus, and Eros, or groups of Erotes. Some of the mirrors depict myths in which beauty or love played an important part. The subject on the museum's mirror fits into this category. (MAA 7/99)
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Gaming Piece with Muse Euterpe Roman, Egypt, Alexandria, 1st c. CE Bone 65.148 Chorn Memorial Fund
Published: Handbook, no. 92 E. Alfldi, "The Muses on Roman Game Counters," Muse 9 (1975) 13-20
Two Dice Roman, Late Imperial period Bone 70.92a and b Museum Purchase
Numerous examples of game counters like this one exist, but the nature of the game for which they were used is not known. The counters have Greek and Roman numerals on their backs, from I to XV, so it is thought the game involved collecting sets of fifteen pieces. Inscriptions, where they exist, identify the representations on the fronts. The latter depict gods, goddesses, heroes, rulers, athletes, philosophers, poets, characters from Comedy, theater masks, birds, animals, zodiac signs, vases, fruit, and buildings. Numerals and representations do not correspond, so it is assumed there was a series of fifteen counters for every subject known. The game was probably created in Alexandria in the 1st century.
This gaming piece features Euterpe, one of the nine Muses, Greek deities of poetry, literature, music, dance, astronomy, philosophy, and all intellectual pursuits. Euterpe is the Muse of lyric poetry. She is shown draped in a mantle and holding a double flute. The counter is numbered two on the back, and the name Euterpe, also on the back, identifies the Muse. The counter was part of a set that included Apollo and the other eight Muses.
Dicing, with six-sided dice or knucklebones, was popular, either alone or with board games. In Rome, where high sums were often staked, dicing was officially illegal, except at the December festival of the god Saturnus. Two, three, or four dice could be used, and the winner was usually the one with the highest score, four sixes, called Venus. The lowest score was called Canis, dog, which was four aces. Sometimes the winner was the one who threw dice with all different numbers. A box was used for shaking the dice. (MAA 7/99)
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Wall Painting Roman, Late 1st c. BCE to early 1st c. CE Plaster 80.194 Anonymous Gift
Mosaic Floor Depicting a Kneeling Gazelle Roman, Syria, Daphne, near Antioch, 475-526 CE Stone 70.12 Museum Purchase
Published: Handbook, no. 111 Amélia Canilho, "The Gazelle Mosaic: an Inhabited Scroll in Missouri," Muse 31 & 32 (1997-98) 68-89.
These objects represent two major Roman art forms, wall painting and mosaic. Wealthy Romans decorated the walls of their homes, and their tombs, with wall-paintings. Mosaics adorned floors, walls, and vaults of homes and public buildings. The wall painting fragment on exhibit depicts a curved screen of columns set in a landscape, as indicated by the tree growing through or in front of the columns. The upper body of a human figure is preserved at the bottom of the fragment, standing within the colonnade. The painting probably belongs to the so-called Second style, in which three-dimensional objects, mainly architectural elements, were represented. Figures were also introduced. The mosaic comes from a floor and shows one of what must have been a series of animals set within an acanthus scroll. It is formed of cut stones, or tesserae, embedded in mortar, the standard method for making mosaics. (Glass tesserae were also used in mosaics, but not in this fragment.) The stones are marble and limestone in a variety of colors: black, white, and shades of red, green, tan, and brown. Just below the animal a pomegranate is depicted in large scale. The peopled scroll—a vine, acanthus, or laurel rinceau enclosing humans, animals, or vegetal motifs—originates in 4th century and Hellenistic Greece but becomes most popular in Roman times, enduring into the early Byzantine period. The motif occurs mainly in mosaics but is also found in wall paintings, architectural decoration, and metalwork. In mosaics, the motif is used mainly as a border, but from the 4th century onward it is also a common motif for the main area of the mosaic, particularly in Christian churches. The style of the mosaic is typical of 5th and 6th century mosaics from Daphne (a suburb of Antioch, the capital of the Roman province of Syria) and nearby Apamea. (MAA 7/99)
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Relief from a Krater Roman, Archaistic, Neo-Attic, Trajanic period, late 1st to early 2nd c. CE Marble 88.33 Weinberg and Gilbreath McLorn Museum Funds
Personification of Autumn Roman, ca. 200 CE Marble 81.111 Gift of Museum Associates
Hermes, along with Athena, Apollo, and Artemis, was originally part of a procession of the four gods. This procession was copied on a number of Roman reliefs and kraters and is based on an original monument carved ca. 100 BCE Archaizing works recall in an exaggerated, mannered way the Greek style of the 6th century BCE In the Hermes this is identifiable in the zigzag hems of Hermes' cloak, his wedge-shaped beard, and his hairstyle with long locks. Archaizing styles demonstrate an interesting kind of reflection of monumental art. From later Classical through Roman times, the style of the late 7th and 6th centuries BCE was prized for its very antiquity, seemingly invested with a special religious authority and authenticity. An example of authentic Archaic sculpture is the Athena from the west pediment of the temple of Aphaia on the island of Aegina, dating to ca. 490 BCE A cast is on exhibit in the Gallery of Casts. The personification of Autumn represents a different Roman artistic tradition, referring back to Classical ideals. The nudity and the treatment of the musculature show a reliance on 5th-century sculpture like that of Polycleitos' Doryphoros. (There is a cast of this sculpture also in the Cast Gallery.) The figure is from a sarcophagus with representation of the Four Seasons, a popular subject on Roman sarcophagi. The Seasons in Roman art are shown as winged. The partially preserved wings of this figure identify him as one of the Seasons; the vine wreath in his hair shows him to be Autumn. Representation of the Seasons as male is a Roman invention, first appearing in the early 2nd century after Christ. In Greek art, the Seasons are always female. Religious thought in the 2nd century and later favored non-mythological figures with allegorical or symbolic implications, and this is reflected in the art of the period. (MAA 7/99)
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Front Panel from a Child's Sarcophagus Roman, Italy, ca. 190-220 CE Thasian marble 83.65 Silver anniversary gift of the MU Development Fund Board and Boone County Community Trust
Published: Stumpf, Joseph, "Cupids at the Circus: Missouri's Chariot Sarcophagus," Muse 29 & 30 (1995-96) 74-89.
The relief shows a race in the circus, with chariots going in both directions. Nine chariot teams, each driven by an Eros or Cupid, race around the spina or central divider. Each Cupid, held in place by a harness belt and holding reins and whip, drives a two-horse chariot, or biga. Four teams are placed along the front. At the lower left, a Cupid is falling out of his chariot, one horse pitching violently forward. The driver in front looks back at the disaster, while his horse tramples a fallen figure, whose feet and hands are all that are preserved. This figure represents a helper, whose job it was to throw water on the horses as they raced, in order to cool them down. At the far right end, the back of a driver rounds the end of the spina, between the turning posts or metae and the end of the spina.
Monuments were normally placed along the spina in circuses. These are richly represented here. On the right side are two metae, although a real circus would have had three at each end. Next comes a statue of Victory set up on a column, followed by an entablature supporting a row of seven eggs. These were lap-counting devices. Whenever the lead chariot passed by, one was raised up on a spike to show that a lap had been completed. In the center of the spina stands an obelisk, almost always present in circuses. To its left is shown an altar, and beyond it a second lap-counting device—a row of dolphins. These were removed, or turned around in some way, to show completion of each lap. Next comes a cupola supporting a large bird, probably an eagle. All these monuments stand in the same order as those on the spina of the Circus Maximus in Rome.
The representation of a chariot race in a circus, with Erotes as charioteers, was often used for sarcophagi, probably symbolizing "life as a race." This is in line with current thought at the time. Whether the deceased should be thought of as victor, or as the one who tumbles from his chariot is, however, open to question, but since several sarcophagi show a Cupid at the far right as a clear victor, perhaps that is the most reasonable explanation. The museum's sarcophagus does not, however, show an obvious winner, perhaps because, unlike most sarcophagi, the complete race is shown. (MAA 7/99)
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Portrait of the Emperor Nero Roman, Egypt, 60 CE Marble 62.46 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. T.E. Bachman
This marble, over-life-size head of the emperor Nero was carved for insertion in a statue wearing a toga. Despite the largely missing nose and extensive damage to the left brow, it is recognizable as Nero. Portraits of him are identified from five coin portraits, the earliest of which dates to CE 51 when he appears as a boy. This marble head resembles the three latest coin portraits, although the poor preservation of the hair over the forehead makes it difficult to distinguish which type is portrayed. The treatment of the mouth with receding underlip is characteristic of the emperor's adult portraits, as are the heavy chin and the prominent neck.
At some time in antiquity the head was reworked. A beard, represented by stippling was added, the hair over the right ear was slightly recarved, and the characteristically Neronian long hair on the nape of the neck was cut back. The treatment of beards by stippling begins in the early 3rd century. Since the head is over-life-size, even in its recut state, it was probably intended as an imperial portrait, and some resemblance to portraits of the emperor Gallienus, CE 253-268, suggests the head may have been recarved to represent him.
Reuse of architectural elements and sculpture was common in the Roman empire. Architectural blocks were recarved, or reused in their original state. Marble sculpture was often reworked as portraits of different people, usually for economic reasons, but in the case of certain individuals because they had been subject to damnatio memoriae ("damnation of their memory"). This was a component of condemnation for treason (maiestas). It dictated that images of the condemned must be destroyed and inscriptions with their names erased. Nero was one of the emperors who was subject to damnatio. Many of his portraits were destroyed, but several were recarved to represent the emperors Domitian and Vespasian. Portraits of condemned individuals were not always recarved immediately. They could be kept in a sculptor's warehouse for several years before being reused. The long time lapse between the death of Nero in CE 68 and the recarving of this portrait in the 3rd century suggests that the head was put away and forgotten. (MAA 7/99)
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Terra Sigillata Bowl with Molded Design Gallo-Roman, Late 1st c. CE Pottery 60.50 Museum Purchase
The Gallo-Roman bowl was made at the site of La Graufesenque, or close by, in South Gaul (modern France). The mold-made scene shows an animal hunt taking place in a rocky landscape. Lions and goats or deer, separated by many-branched trees, are set around the bowl. The main scene shows a man, dressed in short tunic, battling with a lion. The bowl, although not signed, is in the style of Germanus, one of the well-known potters of the time. (MAA 7/99)
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Paired Sandaled Foot Lamp Roman, 1st c. CE Terracotta 59.1 Museum Purchase
Lamps made of different materials and in different shapes were used throughout the ancient world from earliest times. The most commonly used material was terracotta (fired clay), occurring as early as Neolithic times, but stone lamps dating to the Bronze Age have been found, and bronze and iron were used for lamps beginning in the late 2nd and early 1st millennium respectively. Glass lamps appear much later, in Roman times, and they were common only from the 4th century after Christ.
Terracotta lamps were always the most common, and great quantities of them, either whole, or in fragments, have survived. Some were placed in graves, others broke and were thrown away to be found later by archaeologists in wells and rubbish pits. Still others were found in the houses where they were last in use. So many of these terracotta lamps have survived that it has been possible to establish the development of the shape, which can be generally described as a progression from an open saucer type to a more closed shape which in the Late Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods was usually elaborately decorated.
This Roman foot lamp is of interest for its relationship to the god Serapis, who was a composite god introduced into Egypt in the 3rd century BCE As god of the corn supply he wore a corn measure (modius) on his head. He was also god of the underworld. His feet and footprints were venerated throughout the Roman Empire, and dedications to him often took the form of a footprint incised into a stone block. The paired sandalled foot lamp may have been intended for the cult of the dead, to be placed in the tomb. (MAA 7/99)
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Early Lamps from Palestine, Drawer #1
The earliest lamps displayed in this drawer are crude, handmade, open saucers for olive oil with a pinched spout for a wick. In the Middle Bronze I period, ca. 2000 BCE, four-spouted wheelmade lamps were introduced (see the Palestine display in the gallery), but lamps with a single spout prevailed as the predominant type in Palestine in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Iron Age seven-spouted lamp exhibited here is unusual. (MAA 7/99)
Two Saucer Lamps Palestine, Ain Samiyah, Chalcolithic period, 4th millennium BCE Terracotta 68.180a and b Museum Purchase
68.180a 68.180b
Saucer Lamp Palestine, Middle Bronze I, 2200-2000 BCE Terracotta 68.90 Museum Purchase 68.90
Saucer Lamp Palestine, near Hebron, Iron IIA-B, 1000-800 BCE Terracotta 68.108.14 Museum Purchase 68.108.14
Saucer Lamp with Seven Spouts Palestine, Etoun (?), Iron II, 1000-586 BCE Terracotta 68.266 Museum Purchase
68.266
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Greek Lamps and Imitations, Drawer #2
In Greece, early lamps were handmade, but in the second half of the 7th century BCE, wheel-made ones appeared, and by the third quarter of the 6th century had supplanted the handmade ones. The saucer shape was modified by the addition of an overhanging rim which prevented the oil from spilling. Nozzles with a hole for the wick were made separately and added on. Gradually the top of the lamp became closed leaving only a small filling-hole, and the nozzle became longer. Both the handmade lamps and the early wheel-made ones were unglazed, but in the 6th century BCE glaze began to be used to make the clay less porous, at first on the interior and then on the exterior as well.
Although wheel-made lamps continued to be made, they were gradually supplanted during the Hellenistic period by lamps made in a new technique. In the early 3rd century BCE use of molds was introduced. In the beginning, these moldmade lamps were adaptations of wheel-made forms, but by the mid-3rd century decoration in relief began to appear on the tops and nozzles. Greek lamps were copied in Palestine through use of molds taken from imported lamps. (MAA 7/99)
Lamp Greece, Early 5th c. BCE Terracotta 90.103 Anonymous gift 90.103
Lamp Greece, Athens, ca. 475-410 BCE Terracotta 57.14 Museum Purchase 57.14
Lamp Greece, Corinth, ca. 350-315 BCE Terracotta 59.27 Museum Purchase
59.27
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Lamp Palestine, ca. 400-350 BCE 68.272 Bronze 68.272 Museum Purchase
68.276 Lamp Palestine, Hellenistic period, 3rd c. BCE Terracotta 68.276 Museum Purchase
Lamp with Relief Decoration Palestine, Hellenistic, late 2nd – 11st c. BCE 70.117 Terracotta 70.117 Museum Purchase
70.121 Lamp of Ephesos Type Palestine, Hellenistic, 100-50 BCE Terracotta 70.121 Museum Purchase
Lamp Anatolia, Ankara, Hellenistic period, ca. 25 BCE-CE 25 Terracotta 86.68 Gift of Dr. Allen Heflin
86.68
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Development of Roman Lamps, Drawer #3
The typology of Roman terracotta lamps has been well established. Early Italian lamps were of two main types: volute-nozzle, introduced in Augustan times (27 BCE-CE 14), and with circular oil chamber and short, rounded nozzle, probably invented in 40-50 CE Although without handles at first, one was soon added. These types were exported widely throughout the Roman Empire, stimulating local imitations. Metal lamps were also used. Gold and silver ones are known, but bronze lamps must have been more common, although few have survived. These were often made in exotic shapes. The zoomorphic and lantern lamp shown here in terracotta serve as reminders that unusual lamps existed. (MAA 7/99)
Volute-Lamp with Medusa (Gorgon) Head Anatolia, Italian, late 1st c. BCE to mid-1st c. CE Terracotta 65.79 Museum Purchase 65.79
Lamp with Rosette Anatolia, 1st-2nd c. CE Terracotta 82.259 Weinberg Fund
Volute-Lamp; signed ROMANESIS 82.259 Greece, Cnidos, 1st c. CE Terracotta 60.17 Museum Purchase 60.17
Hanging Lamp in Form of Dog Roman, Palestine, 3rd c. CE Terracotta 70.120 Museum Purchase 70.120
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Miniature Lamp in Form of Lantern Roman, Egypt (?), 3rd c. CE (?) Terracotta 65.6 65.6 Museum Purchase
Lamp with Eagle 2nd c. CE Terracotta 76.139 Gift of Frances Follin Jones
76.139
Lamp with Vine Pattern Greece, Athens, Mid-3rd c. CE Terracotta 64.15 64.15 Museum Purchase
Lamp with Quadriga (Four-horse Chariot) Anatolia, 3rd-4th c. CE Terracotta 65.80 Museum Purchase
65.80
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Subjects on Roman Lamps, Drawer #4
The relief decoration on Roman lamps provides a wealth of information about the Roman world. Depicted are scenes from daily life, representations of gods and scenes from mythology, and copies of larger works of art, some of which have not survived.
The following lamps show influence of larger works of art:
Lamp with Swimming Nereid (Sea Nymph) Roman, Italy, 14-110 CE Terracotta 70.111 Museum Purchase, Ex coll. Townsend
The inspiration for the scene comes from wall-paintings, mosaics, and relief sculpture where representations of the marine thiasos, or procession of sea divinities, was popular.
Lamp with Leda and the Swan Roman, Anatolia, Late 1st – 2nd c. Terracotta 65.78 Museum Purchase
The composition, with Leda reclining and the swan above, reflects a sculptured group probably created in the 4th c. BCE
The following lamps show scenes from daily life:
Lamp with two Women at Wash Basin Roman, 2nd – 3rd c. CE 70.161 Terracotta 70.161 Museum Purchase
Lamp with Sacrificial Scene Roman, 1st c. CE Terracotta 62.13 62.13 Alumni Achievement Fund
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Lamp with Gladiators 64.5 Roman, 1st c. CE Terracotta 64.5 Museum Purchase
Lamp with Arena Scene Roman, Cyprus, 4th – early 5th c. CE Terracotta X-42 X-42 Transfer from Old Collection
The following lamps illustrate mythology:
Lamp with Silenus 67.66 Roman, 1st c. CE Terracotta 67.66 Museum Purchase
Lamp with Moon-goddess Selene Roman, Greece, Athens, 100-150 CE Terracotta 60.39.2 Gift of K.J. Hewett
60.39.2
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Gladiator Figurine Roman, 1st c. BCE – 1st c. CE Terracotta 76.33 Museum Purchase
This figurine represents a Roman gladiator, standing firm with his armored left leg forward and his left arm wielding a shield. His right arm is held forward, ready to strike with a now- missing sword. The figurine was mold-made in pieces, and after firing was coated in white slip. During this period, such figurines were mass produced for use as grave goods, offerings to deities, or for secular purposes. It is possible that this figurine was dedicated by a gladiator or fan to ensure victory, or as a thank offering after a win. The figurine could also have been sold as a souvenir or a toy. This figurine was likely produced in Roman Gaul (modern France), since similar figurines from terracotta workshops have come to light from the region. Gladiatorial games were especially popular in Gaul and Italy.
In the Roman world, gladiators fought in amphitheaters all over the empire; the sport was wildly popular in the Imperial period and gladiators often became celebrities with large followings of fans, despite their status as slaves and criminals. Select gladiators could become wealthy enough to buy their freedom, becoming public heroes in the process. The sport was highly organized, with different types of gladiators that used specific arms and armor. This figurine can be identified as a secutor (“follower” in Latin): a gladiator that fought with a short sword, arm guard, greave, and rectangular convex shield. The secutor’s costume, equipment, and combat techniques were based on the Samnite soldiers in Italy. It is odd that the Missouri figurine is missing the characteristic large, crested helmet with visor worn by this type of gladiator. A secutor would often be paired in combat with a retiarius, a light-armed gladiator that fought with net and trident.
Gladiatorial combat remained popular until the 5th century C.E., when it was finally banned by the emperor Flavius Honorius. (MAA 9/2005)
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Head of an Empress Roman, Allegedly from Tunisia, 3rd century Marble 2004.1 Weinberg and Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Funds
This life-size portrait probably represents a Roman empress of the third century. She wears a tall diadem, which indicates her imperial status. The hair is dressed with a central part, swept back from the face in a simple wave, and continues to the back of the head where it is wound into a large, elaborate bun. The purpose of the two circular depressions on either side of the part is unknown. Perhaps they were intended to hold a hair ornament or to secure a “pointing” device, a copyist’s tool. Though the deeply drilled eyes and polished surface of the cheeks indicate the face was finished completely, the hair was not. The striations end above the ears, and the bun is only roughed out.
Based on other portraits, both in stone and on coins, the hairstyle and appearance of this woman match best with empresses of the mid-third century. A head in the Terme Museum in Rome, identified as Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla, wife of the emperor Trajan Decius (reigned 249-251), bears a very close resemblance to the Missouri head. Other possibilities are Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, wife of Gordian III (238-244), and Marcia Otacilia Severa, wife of Philip the Arab (244-249). (MAA 9/2005)
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Sarcophagus Fragment with Standing Figure against an Architectural Background Roman, Asia Minor (Turkey), 2nd or 3rd c. C.E. Dokimeion marble 2004.88 Weinberg Fund
In the Roman world, inhumation burial became increasingly popular in the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E., replacing the earlier rite of cremation. Wealthy Roman elites throughout the empire commissioned lavishly carved marble sarcophagi, which could be freestanding, placed within family tombs, or in catacombs. This fragment comes from a type of sarcophagus of the Asiatic type, the largest and most decorative in the Mediterranean world.
There were three main centers of sarcophagus manufacture: Attica in Greece, and Proconnesus and Dokimeion in Western Asia Minor. One advantage of sarcophagi was the large space for figural decoration; they were prefabricated with appropriate funerary themes, with the details carved after commission. Although many sarcophagi were crafted at workshops close to marble quarries, a great number were ordered by the elite of Rome (over 6,000 sarcophagi have been found in Rome).
The illustration below depicts a typical Asiastic sarcophagus, now in the Byzantine Museum in Athens. Figures carved in deep relief pose in front of an architectural backdrop consisting of elaborately carved colonnades. Spirally fluted columns and an abundance of carved mouldings were typical of the architecture of Roman Asia Minor. This layout was probably inspired by ancient stage design, and might have symbolized a metaphorical “stage of life.” Sarcophagi often depicted mythological or allegorical scenes, and later Christian themes, that praised the deceased, or alluded to cultural views on the afterlife. Today, it is difficult to interpret the exact meanings of this iconography. The identity of the preserved youth on the displayed fragment is unknown, but his garment is tied with the Knot of Hercules, which was associated with the bridal outfit. Marriage themes were common on the tombs of young women, and this is perhaps an allegorical figure associated with marriage. (MAA 9/2005)
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Wedding Procession Roman Syria (?), 1st or 2nd c. CE Terracotta 97.21 Weinberg Fund
This unusually large and complex terracotta group consists of two women in the center, with a young boy on the right and young girl on the left. At the back, two men follow, one with his hand placed protectively on the woman in front. The women wear long tunics and mantles drawn up over their heads. The left-hand woman is more modestly covered with her mantle drawn up to her chin. The boy holds a lighted torch, while the young girl carries on her head a large basket with domed lid. Some members of the group may be wearing wreaths on their heads, or this may be rather crudely indicated hairstyles. The group is mold made, and details of drapery were incised after removal from the mold. The subject appears to be a wedding procession. The woman on the left is probably the bride. She is more modestly draped than the woman on the right, and the protective attitude of both the man behind her and the woman on the right, who grasps her by the wrist, also suggests this. The woman on the right may be the bride's mother or perhaps her mother-in- law. In Greek-speaking lands the procession usually took place at night, hence the need for a torch. The young girl perhaps carries the bride's personal possessions. Marriage laws in antiquity varied over time, and the subject is complex. In general, however, Greek marriage was monogamous and marked by the giving of a dowry and a written marriage contract. Marriages could be ended easily. The husband could legally expel his wife. The wife likewise could simply leave, but to ensure return of the dowry had to give written notice in court. Under Roman marriage laws, women retained ownership of their own property and remained under their fathers' protection. A dowry, although not legally necessary, was usual, and in early law the husband acquired full ownership of it. Divorce by mutual consent, or by will of either husband or wife, was legal. In the Greek world the favorite season for marriage was winter. The bride took a ritual bath, sacrifice was made, a wedding feast held, and in the evening the bridegroom took the bride from her father's house. A torchlight procession went ahead. The preferred time for Roman marriages was June. The bride wore a white tunic and flame-colored veil and shoes. After the ceremony in the bride's house, a sacrifice was made and the marriage contract signed. After the wedding feast, the bride was escorted to her new home in procession and welcomed there by her husband who had gone ahead. He carried her over the threshold so that she not stumble and bring bad luck. (MAA 3/98)
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Portrait of the Emperor Hadrian as Diomedes Roman, ca. 130-140 Marble 89.1 Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Fund and Gift of Museum Associates
Published: Fred C. Albertson, “Portrait of Hadrian as Diomedes,” Muse 27 & 28 (1993-94) 11-29
The bust depicts a young man who turns his head to the viewer’s right and looks slightly downward. His cheeks are smooth and soft, his chin rounded. The hair forms a heavy mass of curls, deeply carved over forehead and temples and with less detail over the rest of the head. A lightly carved mustache is visible above the upper lip. The beard is the most distinctive feature. It covers the line of the jaw and extends over the upper neck; the cheeks and underside of the chin are clean shaven.
More than 175 portraits of the emperor Hadrian survive from antiquity. Most fall into seven clearly recognized types, but the Museum’s portrait belongs to an eighth type that is very different from the others and has been the subject of much scholarly argument. First identified as Aelius Caesar, Hadrian’s adopted son and heir, and then as the emperor Lucius Verus, the type is now recognized as a portrait of Hadrian. The identification was established in 1968 when a scholar connected the portrait type with a series of Hadrianic gold coins struck between 136 and 137. The portrait on these coins resembles the sculptures, especially in the type of beard. About thirty-two examples of this eighth portrait type have survived. Twenty- five of these date to the early 16th through the early 19th century. Only a few are certainly ancient. They can be dated to the Hadrianic period on stylistic and technical grounds: close- cropped beard, many rounded curls in the hair, use of the drill, and soft modeling of facial features. The lightly incised irises and shallow pupils set a date of just after CE 130.
The interesting question about this portrait type is why it is so different from the standard ones of the emperor. Those depict him with mustache and short, close-cropped beard covering the cheeks, chin and underside of the jaw, and as mature and middle-aged. A number of suggestions have been made. Perhaps the portrait was intended to symbolize Hadrian in mourning for his lost companion, Antinous, by assimilating him to the youthful Antinous. Or perhaps the portrait symbolized Hadrian’s rebirth. The Museum’s bust, however, offers a more convincing interpretation. It resembles statues of the Greek hero Diomedes. Both have the distinctive beard, the sharp turn of the head, and the soft, youthful
MAA 06/2012 Docent Manual Volume 1 Rome 31 ROME features. Unlike the other surviving portraits of this type which are heads, the Museum’s portrait is a bust preserving part of the mantle that was draped over the left shoulder and a belt for a sword across the upper chest. These, too, are features of surviving statues of Diomedes. The hero Diomedes is chiefly known for his theft from Troy of the Palladium, a small cult statue of Athena. The Greeks had been warned that Troy would not fall unless the statue was taken out of the city. After the fall of Troy, the Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, eventually to found the city of Rome. Representing the emperor as Diomedes symbolized for the Roman viewer the event that began Rome’s predominance. This portrait type perhaps marks the beginning of a trend in Roman portraiture where the likeness became less important than the symbolism. (MAA 1/97)
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Infant Hercules Strangling Two Snakes Roman, 1st c. CE Bronze 98.1 Weinberg Fund, Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Fund, and gift of Museum Associates
The hero Herakles/Hercules, son of Zeus king of the gods, showed his mettle at a very early age. As recounted by the Greek poet Pindar (Nemean Odes 1, 35-72), the jealous goddess Hera, angered by Zeus's infidelity with Herakles' mother, sent two monstrous snakes to kill Herakles and his mortal twin brother Iphikles. Herakles, although only just born, "was the first to fight, taking and twisting with his sure hands the throats of the serpent pair." His parents were amazed, and summoned the seer Teiresias, who foretold Herakles' future exploits and that eventually he would be accepted into Mt. Olympus with the gods.
The small bronze figure of the infant Hercules illustrates this early exploit. The baby is shown seated, wearing only a wreath tied at the back of the head; the ribbons rest on his shoulders. His hair lays in short flat curls on the top of his head and is twisted into a topknot over his forehead. His face is modeled with soft, full cheeks, small upturned nose, open mouth, and prominent eyeballs. In each hand he holds the head of a snake whose coils wind around his outstretched arms, their tails hanging down his back and resting on his thighs. The figure, which was solid cast by the lost-wax technique, was once gilded; there are traces of gilding on his arms at the back.
This episode in the hero's life appears in a variety of art forms, both Greek and Roman: vase paintings, wall paintings, mosaics, coins, gemstones, marble sculptures, and small bronzes. The earliest representations occur on an Athenian red-figure vase of about 480 BCE, around the time Pindar composed his poem. On vases and in wall paintings, several figures are often shown: Iphikles, the parents, a nurse, etc., but a series of coins, minted circa 425 BCE, depict Herakles alone, and from then on this image becomes very popular. Usually Herakles is shown kneeling, but a second type, where he is seated, appears on coins of the cities of Thebes and Croton as early as the beginning of the 4th century BCE A famous wall painting by the painter Zeuxis, now lost but described in antiquity, may have inspired this image.
The Romans adorned their houses and gardens with sculpture. A small-scale bronze figure like this one may have been displayed in a Roman house, perhaps in a household shrine. Such small sculptures can provide some idea of the originality, composition and technical accomplishment of monumental bronze works, few of which have survived from antiquity. (MAA 3/98)
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Funerary Relief: Bust of a Woman Roman, Northern Syria, Seleucia on the Euphrates (?), CE 97/98 Limestone 70.19 Museum Purchase
Published: Callaway, Cathy. “A Matter of Life and Death: ‘Reading’ a Funerary Relief,” Muse 43 (2009) 31-40.
A bust of a woman, set within a rounded niche, forms this grave relief. She turns her head slightly to the left and wears a tunic that forms V-shaped folds over her chest. She is draped in a cloak or veil that is drawn up over her head and wrapped around both arms. Her right hand is raised and touches her chin, while her left is held across at waist level. In it she holds a spindle and distaff, now quite damaged. A turban and headband conceal the hair on her forehead, but two locks are visible above each ear, and long locks fall down to her shoulders below. She wears a bracelet on each wrist, a necklace of large beads around her neck, pendant earrings, and a ring on the third finger of her right hand. Her face is broad with thin, straight lips and large eyes. The pupils of the eyes are not indicated.
The deceased was named Levitha as the carved Greek inscription relates. The full text reads:
Farewell noble Levitha, free from pain. Year 408.
The date of death is given with reference to the Seleucid era which began in 312 BCE Thus, the date of death is 97/98 of the Christian era. The Seleucids were the Hellenistic rulers of Syria. Seleucos I, one of the successors of Alexander the Great, established an extensive kingdom after Alexander's death.
The origin of the sculpture is undoubtedly northern Syria or the adjoining region of Turkey. A number of similar funerary reliefs have been found in the area between modern Belkis in southeastern Turkey and modern Membidj in northern Syria. Together with others that were on the art market in the 1970s, these reliefs form a stylistic group of sculptures that illustrate a mixture of Syrian and Graeco/Roman styles. In the case of the Levitha relief, this mixture is apparent from the use of Greek for the inscription. Greek was the common language in the Near East during the period of the Roman Empire. The headdress that Levitha wears is,
MAA 06/2012 Docent Manual Volume 1 Rome 34 ROME however, distinctly Near Eastern in style
The Levitha monument is the earliest securely dated relief of a woman from this region. Sculptures that are firmly dated by criteria other than stylistic ones form valuable fixed points for establishing the chronology and stylistic development of undated sculptures. (MAA 1/99)
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Funerary Statue of a Woman Roman, Northern Syria, c. 165-200 CE Limestone 76.164 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. A.M. Adler
Published: Handbook: no. 98 Callaway, Cathy, “A Matter of Life and Death: ‘Reading’ a Funerary Relief,” Muse 43 (2009) 31-40.
This funerary monument represents the deceased as half life- size. She stands with her weight on her left leg, the right one relaxed with bent knee, wearing a tunic of finely crinkled fabric tied high beneath the breasts and over it a heavy, elaborately fringed cloak drawn up over her head and falling down her back. Her right hand holds a fold of the cloak at chin level, and her left arm is clasped across her waist, holding the cloak on her hip and supporting her right elbow. Around her neck she wears a heavy necklace with crescent-shaped pendant, on each wrist a twisted metal bracelet, and in her ears earrings of pendant lotus-bud form. On her feet are slippers with pointed toes. Her expression is somber with full lips slightly down turned at the corners, long straight nose, large eyes with incised pupils and heavy brows. Her hair is not visible beneath the cloak, but its height suggests a full hairstyle or an elaborate headband. The twisted bracelets that she wears are represented in actual examples from Syria and Parthia. The crescent-shaped pendant is a popular amulet, considered a protection against the evil eye.
The date of the statue is based on stylistic comparisons. Many figures on sarcophagi of the second century have a cloak pulled high over the head as on this one. The heavy proportions of the face, the nervous folds of drapery, and the type of bracelets are also features of second century sculptures from the Syrian site of Palmyra. The incised pupils of the eyes date the figure to the late Antonine period, specifically the last third of the second century. The use of limestone and the style of the sculpture suggest it comes from North Syria, where other similar sculptures have been found.
The pose and drapery are based on a Greek work probably created in the later part of the second century BCE The type was popular in the Greek period for portraits of noble women, especially on tombstones found on Rhodes, in Smyrna and elsewhere in Asia Minor. Roman sculptors adopted the type, which is often called the Pudicitia (Latin: Modesty); the name is derived from its use as a personification of Modesty on Roman coins. Since the Museum's sculpture is not life size, it is probably funerary, rather than being an honorary statue for public view. The good surface preservation suggests it stood inside the tomb. (MAA 12/98)
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Mercury (Hermes) Roman, Ca. 1st–3rd c. CE Bronze 59.20 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Witten
Bronze figurines (Mercury (Hermes), Winged Victory (Nike), Venus (Aphrodite), and Jupiter or Neptune (Zeus or Poseidon) depict various mythological figures popular in the Roman period. Some of the deities of the Roman pantheon had Greek origins (the Roman name is given, followed by the Greek equivalent in parentheses). Roman mythology and religion were a combination of native Italian, Greek, and eastern traditions.
Mercury (Hermes) is the god of traders, travelers, and mercantile activity. He is depicted in art as a young, unbearded man wearing a traveler’s broad-brimmed hat (a petasos) and sandals (sometimes winged), and he carries the herald’s staff (a caduceus). Often, he carries a purse, a traveling necessity as well as one appropriate for trade. His name “mercury” is related to the Latin word for merchant and trading (merx, mercari). His cult, likely introduced to Italy in the 5th century BCEE., is an early example of Greek commercial influence.
His swiftness was an appropriate characteristic for his other role as messenger of the gods. He also had a reputation for being a cunning trickster who moved with lightning speed. Related to his role as messenger, he also served in Greek mythology as a Guide of Souls, guiding deceased souls to the Underworld. (Note comparisons: Praxiteles’ Hermes in Cast Gallery doesn’t emphasize him as a god of commerce as do Roman depictions.) (MAA 11/2005)
Here, Hermes is nude except for a chlamys hanging from his left shoulder. On his head, he wears the winged petasos and on his feet, winged boots. The remains of some object in the right hand probably represent a purse while the left arm probably held a caduceus. For the Romans, one of Mercury's many areas of influence was money and commerce. Supposedly, the purse Mercury carried was full of gold coins. (MAA 2003)
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Winged Victory (Nike) Roman, c. 1st–3rd c. CE Bronze 62.66.2 Gift of Mr. Leonard Epstein
Victory (Nike) is the Greek goddess, daughter of the Titans Pallas and Styx. In the Gigantomachy (battle of gods and giants), she sided with the Olympians, who were victorious against the Giants. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, she became an abstract symbol of victory. She is associated with victory in athletics, beauty, poetry, drama competitions, battles, and even victory over death. In art, she is depicted as a winged female figure who often holds a wreath to crown winners. In the Roman imperial period, this goddess was primarily associated with peace that followed military victory. (Note comparisons: Nike of Samothrace, Paionios’ Nike in Cast Gallery) (MAA 11/2005)
As a goddess of victory, Nike is most frequently shown alighting and bearing a victory wreath. She is frequently the attendant of Athena, who assists in military conquests. (MAA 2003)
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Venus (Aphrodite) Roman, 2nd c. CE Bronze 61.25 Chorn Memorial Fund
Venus (Aphrodite): Originally an Italian goddess associated with fertility of crops. Later, she became associated with the Greek goddess of erotic love and beauty, Aphrodite. In the Roman Imperial period, her role as Venus Genetrix (the mother of the Julian family) was prominent and later became linked with the cult of the emperors. Arguably the most popular goddess in Italy, she became associated with fertility of all kinds and was a symbol of Roman prosperity.
In art, Aphrodite is depicted as the ideal female beauty. In the 4th century BCEE., Praxiteles carved a nude statue of the goddess in a modest pose while bathing; this image became the model for many Hellenistic and Roman depictions of the goddess. In the Roman period, Venus was sometimes depicted as a nude female (as the figurine on display), but at other times her role as mother of the Julian family was emphasized, and she was depicted as a draped matron. (Note comparisons: Medici Venus in Cast Gallery is in same pose, showing the “modest Venus” covering herself, while Venus Genetrix depicts her in the role of mother of the Romans.) (MAA 11/2005)
This small figurine mimics the pose of the larger Medici Venus, once again illustrating the goddess in a gesture of modesty. (MAA 2003)
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Jupiter or Neptune (Zeus or Poseidon) Roman, 1st–2nd c. CE Bronze 2003.7 Weinberg Fund
Jupiter/Neptune (Zeus/Poseidon): the god of the sky, king of the gods. Jupiter represented justice, power, and dignity. In art, he is depicted as a mature, bearded man, often holding a scepter (a symbol of power) or a lightning bolt (his weapon). Neptune (Poseidon) was the brother of Jupiter (Zeus), and was the god of the sea, earthquakes, and ships. In art, Neptune is also depicted as a mature, bearded man, sometimes holding a trident (a three-pronged fishing spear). Without their characteristic attributes, as in the figurine here, it is often difficult to distinguish between these two gods.
In Roman culture, Jupiter was specifically the god of weather, treaties and oaths, war, and justice; he was also the protector of the state. Neptune was the god of water in general, but not just the sea as in the Greek tradition. He was thus associated with bodies of water, earthquakes, and horses; he also protected against drought. The bearded, fatherly appearance of these gods influenced Medieval and Renaissance images of the God the Father. (MAA 11/2005)
This image is based on a type created in Greek art long before the date of this figurine. Both Zeus and Poseidon were depicted as mature, bearded gods, and thus identification of images is sometimes unclear. Both gods also were commonly represented in this pose. If Zeus, the figure would have been hurling his thunderbolt. If the statuette is Poseidon, the weapon would have been a trident. (MAA 2003)
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Jug in the Form of an Old Woman with a Wine Jug Roman, Turkey, Cnidus Nova (?), Late 1st to Early 3rd century CE Pottery 2000.15 Weinberg Fund
This unusual mold-made jug portrays an old woman holding a lagynos, or wine pitcher, which was often used in rustic drinking festivals. Without any sign of mirth, her heavily wrinkled face appears numb. The wine jug is her only consolation now. The experiences and emotions of everyday people played an important part in Hellenistic art. (MAA 1/12)
Fragmentary Cameo Glass Cup Roman, Italy, Orvieto, Early 1st century CE Glass 87.86a and 87.86b Gift of John and Elsbeth Dusenbery in honor of Gladys and Saul Weinberg
Rhyton in the Shape of a Horned Animal Roman, 1st century CE Glass 86.2 Gift of Mr. Gawain McKinley
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Oinochoe in the Form of a Negro Head Roman, Unknown, 2nd – 3rd century CE Pottery 81.274 Gift of Andrew and Maeve Gyenes
Jug Roman, Unknown, Late 1st century – early 2nd century CE Bronze 62.29 Gift of the Alumni Achievement Fund
Lamp Roman, Unknown, Late 1st century BCE – 1st century CE Bronze 90.105 Anonymous Gift
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Askos Roman, Unknown, 1st century CE Pottery 77.201 Museum Purchase
Amphora Roman, Unknown, 2nd century CE Bronze 72.272 Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Werner Muensterberger
Patera Roman, Palestine, 1st – 2nd century CE Bronze 70.107 Museum Purchase
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Ladle with Strainer Roman, Near East, Late Hellenistic-Early Roman, 1st century BCE – 1st century CE Bronze 71.93 Museum Purchase
Bust of Herakles Roman, Egypt, Early 3rd century CE Terracotta 58.15.8 Gift of Mr. Leonard Epstein
Furniture Attachment Roman, unknown, 1st – 2nd century CE Bronze 80.77 Gift of the Student Capital Fee Improvements Fund
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Appliqué Protome of a Male Youth (One of the Dioscuri?) Roman, 1st century BCE – 1st century CE Bronze 71.6 Museum Purchase
A protome is a decorative attachment on utensils and artworks that depicts the forefront of an animal or the bust of a human. This well-preserved bust depicts a male youth, who wears a conical hat and drapery pinned at his right shoulder. He may represent one of the Dioscuri, who were the twin brothers Castor and Pollux. According to classical mythology, Castor was mortal and Pollux was immortal. When Castor died, Zeus allowed Pollux to share his immortality with his brother, and the two alternated between the heavens and the underworld. (MAA 2007)
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Figurine of a Dancing Mime Roman, unknown, 2nd – 1st century BCE Bronze 80.359 Gift of Boss Partners
Set of Cymbals with a Greek Inscription Roman, 2nd century CE Bronze 85.124a-j Gift of Mr. Robert Haber in honor of Saul and Gladys Weinberg
Published: Biers, Jane and A. E. Raubitschek, “A Pair of Cymbals and a Metalworker,” Muse 31-32 (1997-1998) 53-67.
Finger Ring with Intaglio Gem Engraved with Male Portrait Head (possibly the Emperor Claudius) Roman, 1st century CE Lead and agate 63.21 Museum Purchase Impression
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Pair of Earrings Roman, Turkey, mid – 3rd century CE Gold, glass, garnet 85.48 a and b Weinberg Fund
Necklace Roman, Turkey, 3rd – 4th century CE Gold, sapphire 85.45 Weinberg Fund
Crossbow Fibula Roman, ca. 340-360 CE Bronze 61.1 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Weinberg
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Hairpin Roman, 1st – 2nd century CE Silver 85.203 Betsy Worrell Memorial Fund
Intaglio gem with Leda and the Swan Roman, Near East, 1st – 2nd century CE Carnelian Impression 68.315 Museum Purchase
End Panel from a Sarcophagus Roman, 4th century CE Lead 62.60 Museum Purchase
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Head of a Boy Roman, Julio-Claudian period, 1st century CE Pentelic Marble 79.145 Gift of Mrs. Ella Brummer
The symmetry of this head and its frontality suggest that it comes from a herm, a type of sculpture consisting of a rectangular block of stone with a head on top. During the Hellenistic period, herms with beardless athletic heads were dedicated by the ephebes of Athens, where this head presumably was carved. Later examples show that such herms continued to be made in the Roman period, but whether for dedications connected with the ephebes or for use in private houses are not known. The features are somewhat realistic, suggesting that the head may be a portrait. The hair, arranged in symmetrical rows in a caplike effect, compares well with other Roman sculpture from Greece dated to the Julio-Claudian period. (MAA 1982)
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Stylus (Roman period) Roman, Palestine, date unknown Bone 71.78 Museum Purchase
Inkwell Roman, Palestine, 1st – 2nd century CE Pottery 68.294 Museum Purchase
Tall flask with indentations Roman, Turkey, 3rd century CE Glass 81.125 Weinberg Fund
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