This month's sculptures from Hadrian's Villa are portraits of Roman emperors and empresses who rose to power after Hadrian. After the death of Hadrian in 138 AD, the Villa was occasionally used by his various successors. Busts of the emperors Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus and Caracalla have been found on the… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Imperial portraits of Hadrian’s successors
The Forum Antique de Bavay, located in northern France, is currently hosting a small exhibition devoted to the book Mémoires d'Hadrien (Memoirs of Hadrian), a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of Hadrian. The exhibition sheds light on the genesis of Mémoires d'Hadrien and presents archaeological objects and ancient texts. It provides… Continue reading Exhibition: “Marguerite Yourcenar and Hadrian” in Bavay (France)
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a headless statue of Athena of the Vescovali-Arezzo Type made of Luna marble. The goddess is depicted wrapped in a himation (cloak). She wears her aegis bordered with small snakes over the shoulders. She stands with her left hand resting on her hip and would have carried a spear… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Headless statue of Athena
Hadrian and his travels have often served as the guiding thread for my travels. However, my recent trip to Turkey had a different focus, the Hittite civilization, with one of the highlights being a visit to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. After dazzling at the magnificent artefacts on display on the museum's main… Continue reading The cuirassed statue of Hadrian from Ancyra’s theatre (Ankara, Turkey)
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a dark grey limestone relief decorated with mythological scenes. The relief was unearthed in 1769 during excavations undertaken by the art dealer and archaeologist Gavin Hamilton, who sold it to Lord Lansdowne. The latter was an avid collector of antiquities who owned a fine collection of classical sculptures… Continue reading Art and Sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: The Lansdowne Relief
On a recent trip to Southern Spain, I travelled along the Roman Baetica Route and visited many of the archaeological sites and museums that Andalusia has to offer. Among the plethora of ancient treasures to be found in the region, I was particularly impressed by the incredible mosaics I came across. The Roman Baetica Route… Continue reading A guide to the mosaics along the Roman Baetica Route (Spain)
It appears that I will not be the only one celebrating next year: The Archaeological Museum of Seville in southern Spain is planning to host an exhibition in 2017 to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of the accession of Hadrian to the imperial throne. "Hadrian 2017. Metamorphosis: The birth of a new Rome." A colloquium entitled… Continue reading Seville to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s accession to the throne (117-2017)
Happy 1940th birthday, Hadrian! For this year's birthday cake, I chose to cook Cato's recipe for savillum (a kind of cheesecake/bread). 🎂 Savillum recipe in Latin (from LacusCurtius): Cato’s De Agricultura 84: Savillum hoc modo facito. Farinae selibram, casei P. II S una conmisceto quasi libum, mellis P. et ovum unum. Catinum fictile oleo unguito. Ubi omnia bene… Continue reading Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane! 🎂
This month’s masterpieces from Hadrian’s Villa are the larger-than-life-size marble theatrical masks that once decorated the scaenae frons (stage-building) of the odeon of the villa. The theatre and theatrical performances were particularly popular in Graeco-Roman art. We find many depictions of theatrical scenery, actors and masks in almost all kinds of art, from sculptures to… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: The marble theatrical masks
As mentioned in a previous post (see here), I organised a small banquet at home on the occasion of the Saturnalia festival. I love ancient Roman food, and I tried a few more ancient recipes for this banquet. Once again, everything was delicious! For the appetiser (gustatio), I chose to bake Mustacei must (grape juice)… Continue reading A taste of Ancient Rome – A Saturnalia feast
