This week's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble statue of Venus, the goddess of love, crouching at her bath. The statue is modelled after the Crouching Aphrodite type, attributed to the 3rd-century BC sculptor Doidalsas of Bithynia. Venus crouches with her right knee close to the ground, turns her head to the right and,… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble statue of a crouching Venus
This week's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble statue of Apollo (Apollo Citharoedus). It was found on the site of the round Temple of Venus (tholos) by the 18th-century owner of the Villa, Conte Giuseppe Fede. The god is depicted with his attributes: the lyre and the sacred snake Python. The tree trunk around which… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble statue of Apollo holding a lyre
This week marks the start of a new set of posts called "Art and Sculptures from Hadrian's Villa". Hadrian was the greatest patron of the arts. His imperial villa at Tibur was adorned with the very best of what the Roman empire had to offer in terms of works of art and building materials. Hundreds… Continue reading Art and Sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Mosaic, Pair of centaurs fighting wild cats
On this day (January, 8) in 1860 was born Edward Perry Warren, known as Ned Warren, an American art-lover and collector. Warren is now best known as the former owner of the Warren Cup, now exhibited in the British Museum. The Warren Cup, created early in the first century AD, is a remarkably important and… Continue reading Artefact: The Warren Cup
Caligae were heavy hob-nailed military boots worn by the Roman legionary soldiers, auxiliaries and cavalrymen throughout the Roman Republic and Empire. This bronze caliga was part of an over life-size statue of a Roman cavalryman from the 1st or the 2nd century AD. It is exhibited at the Museo Civico Archeologico of Bologna. However this… Continue reading Artefact: Bronze caliga from an over life-size statue of a Roman cavalryman
On this day in 130 AD, Hadrian founded Antinoopolis (Egypt), in memory of his beloved Antinous who had drowned in the Nile a few days earlier. Antinoopolis is located on the east bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt near the modern village of Sheikh ‘Ibada. The site was originally an Egyptian city with a temple… Continue reading Painted portrait of a woman from Antinoopolis, Egypt
Inv. N° 1960, exhibited in the Central Hall. Found ca. 1700 in the Garden of the now-demolished Villa Casali in Rome. Called the "Antinous Casali," after its origin. «Der Kopf wird von vielen für den schönsten gehalten» (Friedrich von Ramdohr, 1787)
While I finished working on my next blog entry about Classical Pula (Croatia), I started a new weekly post called Artefact of the Week. Not only have I been lucky enough to explore many ancient sites through my archaeology travels, but I have also been fortunate to visit many museums. Let's begin with this beautiful… Continue reading Artefact: Fish-shaped Glass Bottle from the Roman necropolis of Iader (Zadar)
When the Romans arrived and settled in the Moselle valley over 2,000 years ago, they brought many things with them, including underfloor heating, winemaking, aqueducts, and road networks. The remains of the rural farmsteads contain luxurious installations, some of which were almost palace-like in dimensions and decorated with splendid mosaics. A famous example of Roman… Continue reading The Gladiator Mosaic at Nennig, Germany
Ahead of tonight's programme about Caligula (BBC Two 21:00) presented by Mary Beard, here is a picture of a bronze fitting head of Medusa that decorated one of the Nemi Ships. The vessels were built on the orders of emperor Caligula around AD 37-41. The bronze fittings are the most important set of objects found… Continue reading Picture of the week: Head of Medusa, bronze fitting of the Nemi Ships built by Caligula at Lake Nemi
