Last weekend I travelled to Toulouse to visit the fabulous exhibition on Roman frescoes being held at the Musée Saint-Raymond. The exhibition, entitled 'L'Empire de la couleur - De Pompéi au sud des Gaules' ('Empire of colour - From Pompeii to Southern Gaul'), opened last November and runs through March 2015. The majority of Roman… Continue reading Roman frescoes on show in Toulouse (France)
An over-life-size Parian marble statue of Antinous restored as Ganymede can be admired at the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight on the Wirral (near Liverpool, UK). Rediscovered in the late 18th century during a revival of interest in the Classical World, the statue of Antinous was purchased in Italy in 1796 by Thomas… Continue reading Statue of Antinous restored as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight (UK)
This month's masterpieces from Hadrian's Villa are eight marble statues depicting seated muses. In Greek mythology, the Muses were sister goddesses of music, poetry, and other artistic and intellectual pursuits. Poets and other artists often called on them for inspiration. Zeus, the king of the gods, was the father of the Muses. Their mother was… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Eight statues of seated Muses
About a year and a half after the discovery of the bronze statue of Hadrian in 1977 (see previous post here), six fragments of a monumental Latin inscription, the largest ever found in Israel, were discovered near the camp of the Sixth Legion in Tel Shalem. The inscription, in three lines, had belonged to a… Continue reading The inscription dedicated to Hadrian from the Tel Shalem arch
On July 25, 1975, an American tourist discovered a magnificent bronze cuirassed statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector in Tel Shalem, located in the Beth Shean Valley, Israel. This site was once occupied by a detachment of the Sixth Roman Legion (Legio VI Ferrata). The statue… Continue reading Bronze statue of Hadrian from the legionary camp at Tel Shalem (Judaea), Israel Museum
Two weeks ago I returned to Madrid to visit the new Archaeological Museum. Spain's National Archaeological Museum reopened to the public six months ago after a massive six-year revamp that aimed at offering a state-of-the-art space for its collection of ancient artefacts. A total of 13,000 objects are on display in 40 rooms in a… Continue reading Roman mosaics from the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a head of a goddess made of Pentelic marble. She is wearing a diadem in her wavy hair that is centrally parted and dressed in a chignon at the nape of her neck. It was found in a cryptoporticus near the circular temple dedicated to the Venus of… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Head of a diademed goddess
This week marks the bimillennial anniversary of the death of the first Roman emperor, Augustus. He died on 19th August AD 14 at the age of 75 after a 41-year reign, the longest in Roman history. Augustus left his mark on Rome and western civilisation like few others. He vastly expanded the Roman Empire and… Continue reading A tribute to Augustus
Built in 1974 over the remains of a Roman villa, the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne houses an extensive collection of Roman artefacts from the Roman settlement of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (named after Agrippina the Younger, born in Cologne), the capital of the Imperial Province of Germania Inferior. The museum houses the largest collection of… Continue reading The Nerva-Antonines in Cologne
With its three magnificent large Doric temples, Paestum became a well-known site thanks to the 18th century engravings by Piranesi and Goethe’s impressive descriptions in his Italian Journey. However Paestum is also renowned for its tombs decorated with painted scenes. During excavations in the 1960s, around 200 richly painted tombs from the Lucanian period (4th century… Continue reading The Painted Tombs of Paestum
