McManus Images Index IX

Index of Images, Part IX: Barbara F. McManus

Go to Index, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, Part XV, Roman Coins: Republic and Principate, Roman Coins: Empire, Greek Coins, Coins from the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Coins from the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland, Coins from the Hunterian Museum

portrait heads of Roman women; Roman, early imperial period
Rome, Vatican Museum (Chiaramonti Corridor). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003

funerary relief of married couple; Roman
The inscription is an excellent example of archaic Roman lettering; the husband, P. Aelius Myron, dedicated the monument to his wife, Aurelia Agrippina, and their children.
Rome, Vatican Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003

funerary cippus of Claudia Piste; Roman
Her husband took the trouble to compose and inscribe on her tombstone a poem lamenting her loss.
This detail shows how the stonecutter had to reduce the height of his letters and cramp them at the end to make the longer lines at the end of the poem fit on the stone, thus leaving some blank space at the bottom of the stone.
Rome, Vatican Museum (Chiaramonti Corridor). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003

portrait head of a young girl; Roman, c. 15-40 BCE
The marble head was found in Rome near the Via Flaminia and may have come from a statue in a family tomb.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: funerary

portrait head of a girl; Roman
Rome, Vatican Museum (Chiaramonti Corridor). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003

portrait head of a woman; Roman
Rome, Vatican Museum (Chiaramonti Corridor). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003

funerary relief of a woman and daughter; Roman, from the Euphrates region of Syria, 70-100 CE
side view
The Greek inscription reads "Mimia, too soon, farewell; Koartilla farewell." The mother wears native Mesopotamian costume; the daughter holds a wreath and wears fashionable Roman jewelry.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002

bronze statuette of female toddler; Roman, probably from Egypt, c. 100 CE
The little girl is naked and has an incongruously elaborate high-fashion hairstyle.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
keywords: child, children, childhood

terra-cotta jug; Roman, early third century CE
The jug, made of African red slipware, is in the form of a caricaturized drunken old woman clasping a wine jug.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
keywords: age, elderly

encaustic mummy portrait of elderly woman; Roman, from the Fayum area of Egypt, 300-325 CE
The painter has emphasized the age of the woman through stressing her wrinkles and grey hair.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2001
keywords: age, elderly

layered Onyx cameo; Roman
This cameo depicts the wedding of Eros and Psyche. Several typical features of the Roman wedding are included in exaggerated form.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
keywords: marriage; Cupid; erotes

sarcophagus relief: man and woman with Muses; Roman
The central panel contains elaborately carved doors, partially open. On the right is a portrait of the husband, holding a scroll and flanked by two Muses; beneath his feet is a tragic mask. On the left is his wife in a very similar pose (smaller version). The intent seems to be to stress the learning and culture of both the man and the woman.
Rome, Vatican Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
keywords: learning

bronze sistrum with head of Hathor
This is a nineteenth-century copy of an ancient sistrum in the Hague. The sistrum was a rattle used in the worshop of Egyptian goddesses, especially Isis and Hathor.
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: religion

marble statue of Isis; Roman, second century CE
side view; detail; head and upper torso
The goddess holds a bucket and sistrum, ritual implements used in her worship.
Rome, Palazzo Nuova (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: religion

grave stele of Sosibia; Roman, from Attica, 160-170 CE
The Greek inscription reads "Sosibia [daughter of] Euboios of Kephissia." Sosibia is depicted as a devotee or priestess of Isis, holding a sistrum and bucket.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: religion; funerary

terra-cotta fragment: worshipper of Isis; Roman, made in Egypt, c. 50 BCE - 50 CE
The female devotee of Isis shakes the sistrum, the sacred rattle.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2001
Keywords: religion

portrait head of a young priestess; Roman, from Greece (probably Corinth), 100-140 CE
The rolled ribbon on her head indicates that she was a priestess, despite her young age.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: religion; funerary

gold ring with nicolo intaglio; Roman, third century CE (found in France);
ring with enlarged drawing of inscription.
The ring is inscribed TE AMO PARVM, which means literally "I love you too little." However, the giver may have intended a more positive sentiment, along the lines of "I can never love you enough, not as much as you deserve."
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: jewelry

black marble head of Livia; Roman, c. 50 CE
view from other side;
The carved hair shows that the head originally wore a diadem, so the portrait dates from the reign of Claudius, who deified his grandmother.
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: empress

detail: fresco depicting mysteries associated with Dionysus; Roman, first century CE
An older woman holding a rolled scroll looks down at a child reading an open scroll.
Pompeii, Villa of the Mysteries. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: religion; learning

marble bust of a young man; Roman
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: portrait sculpture

banking scene; Roman, third century CE
The banker is shown with a client; the plaque was probably a shop sign.
Rome, Vatican Museum, Chiaramonti Corridor. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: money, economics, commerce

milky sard intaglio; Roman, late first century CE
detail of impression; The intaglio portrays Octavian/Augustus as Neptune, driving a chariot pulled by hippocamps; amid the waves is the head of a man, representing Sextus Pompey or Mark Antony, both of whom he had conquered in naval battles.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: Augustan symbolism

marble votive relief; Roman, from Asia Minor, first - second century CE
Helen stands between her brothers Castor and Pollux. The Greek inscription reads "Lucius Velius Fronto [dedicated this] to the Dioscuri."
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
keywords: religion; mythology

silver statuette of Jupiter; Roman
detail; part of a hoard of silver statuettes and coins buried in Mâcon, France after 260 CE; may have come from a sanctuary.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: Zeus, thunderbolt

stairs and podium of the Temple of Mars Ultor; Roman, end first century BCE
detail: capitals; Rome, Forum of Augustus. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: city of Rome, Augustus, religion

statue of a woman with a young girl, probably her daughter; Roman, 50-40 BCE
detail, child; detail, child from front
Rome, Museo Montemartini (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: sculpture, women, mother

funerary altar for Minicia Marcella; Roman, 105-106 CE
Minicia Marcella was the daughter of C. Minicius Fundanus; her death was described in a letter by Pliny the Younger (5.16). She lived 12 years, 11 months, 7 days.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: sculpture, tombstone, children

funerary altar for Marcella Statoria; Roman, 105-106 CE
Marcella was the mother of Minicia Marcella and wife of C. Minicius Fundanus (suffect consul 107 CE).
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: sculpture, tombstone, Pliny

funerary altar for a young girl; Roman, first century CE
detail: portrait of Minucia;
Tiberius Claudius Suavis erected this altar for his daughter Minucia Suavis, who lived 14 years, 8 months, 23 days.
The inscription shows that despite her young age she was already married.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano,(National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: sculpture, tombstone, children

sarcophagus of a young girl; Roman, early third century CE
The central portrait shows a young girl with a "melon" hairstyle. Her portrait is held by two flying cupids.
On either side is a representation of Cupid and Psyche; this detail shows Psyche with a melon hairstyle echoing that of the deceased girl.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano,(National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: sculpture, tombstone, children

marble portrait bust of a young girl; Roman., second century CE
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: sculpture, children

statue of an elderly woman in headdress; Roman, c. 135-140 CE
She is shown performing a sacrifice and may have been a priestess.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: sculpture, women, religion, ritual

terra-cotta roundel with facing portrait busts of a married couple; Roman, c. 330-60 CE
The Latin inscription means "May you grow old together."
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: marriage, love

Gilt bronze mirror back; Roman, second century CE
Depicts two women bathing before a statuette of Venus.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: beauty

marble relief of Vestals banqueting; Roman, end first century BCE-beginning first century CE
smaller version.
This relief may pertain to the altar which stood inside the Ara Pacis; the male may be the Pontifex Maximus.
Rome, Museo Montemartini (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: religion, Vestal Virgin

so-called “laudatio Turiae”; Roman, 8-2 BCE
Fragment of the opening lines of a long inscription containing a funerary eulogy by a husband in praise of his wife (possibly named Turia), who saved his life during the proscriptions.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: women, marriage

Luni marble sarcophagus for a young boy, Roman, beginning second century CE (Trajanic period);
smaller version.
This is one of the earliest known sarcophagi for a child, a boy who evidently died as a toddler. The course of his short life is shown from right to left. He is first shown as a swaddled infant in his mother's arms, riding in a carriage in the countryside. His father sits next to them (smaller version) with his arm tenderly around his wife's shoulder. The central scene depicts the boy pushing a wheeled frame as he learns to walk, and playing with a pet goose as a slightly older toddler. The left side shows the same family in a carriage, but now the boy is a toddler (smaller version) sitting on his father's lap; the winged Cupid flying above the horses indicates that the boy has died and this carriage ride is his journey to the Underworld.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: family life, infant; funerary

marble relief showing a mother suckling an infant; Roman
A young man and a woman veiled like a priestess look on; the temple pediment suggests a religious context.
Rome, Chiaramonti corridor, Vatican Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: religion, baby, family

marble sarcophagus of Metilia Acte, Roman, c. 161-170 CE;
smaller version.
According to the inscription, Gaius Junius Euhodus set up the sarcophagus for his wife Metilia Acte, a priestess of the Magna Mater from Ostia; the relief depicts scenes from the myth of Alcestis, including the dying mother saying farewell to her children, with .
portrait faces of Acte (with an early Antonine hairstyle) as Alcestis, Euhodus (with the hairstyle of Lucius Verus) as Admetus, and with two women in the background, including a younger woman with the hairstyle of Faustina the Younger. To the right, Admetus greets Hercules, with Cerberus at his feet, as he leads the veiled Alcestis from the Underworld, while Hades and Proserpina look on.
Rome, Chiaramonti corridor, Vatican Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion, funerary, family

marble statue of a seated girl; Hadrianic copy of a Hellenistic original dating back to 280-270 BCE
Rome, Museo Montemartini (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: sculpture, women

altar dedicated by the priestess Claudia Syntyche; Roman, first century CE
detail of relief and inscription
The relief depicts Claudia Quinta, whose story is told by Ovid (Fasti 4.247-348), using an infula (a sacred band) tied to the ship's rostrum (beak) to pull the ship Salvia that bears the image of the Magna Mater which came from Phrygia in Asia Minor.
Rome, Museo Montemartini (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: religion, Cybele, legend

wall painting from the villa at Stabiae; Roman, 30-50 CE
A partially draped female wearing a wreath reclines on a couch and holds a drinking horn.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: women, leisure, entertainment, banqueting, lectus

tomb of the wealthy businesswoman Naevoleia Tyche; Roman, first-century CE
The name of Naevoleia Tyche indicates that she was probably a freedwoman; the inscription states that she set up the tomb for herself, for her husband, C. Munatius Faustus, and for her freedmen and freedwomen.The relief probably relates to the family's business activities.
Pompeii, Street of Tombs. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: women, funerary, liberta, liberti, libertini

glass cameo with bust of Livia; late first century BCE – early first century CE
The wife of Augustus is shown veilend and wearing a diadem.
Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: empress

model of the Portico of Octavia and surrounding area; (plastico of Rome in the fourth century CE
The view includes the Tiber and Pons Fabricius, the Theater of Marcellus, and the Theater of Balbus.
model of the Portico of Octavia—front view; model of the Portico of Octavia—side view
EUR (Rome), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003; 2007
Keywords: city of Rome; leisure

model of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct and surrounding area; (plastico of Rome in the fourth century CE
The view includes the Temple of the Deified Claudius, the Colosseum, and the Bather of Trajan.
closer view
EUR (Rome), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: city of Rome; engineering, water

model of Tiber Island, viewed from northwest on the water; plastico of Rome in the fourth century CE
same view from above;
Temple of Aesculapius from the water;
Temple of Aesculapius from above;
Temple of Jupiter Iurarius from above;
Tiber Island from the side;
view of the road across Tiber Island (inter duos pontes);
view of the Pons Cestius from the water.
EUR (Rome), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: city of Rome

detail of the conclusion of a letter from the Vindolanda tablets; Roman, 97-103 CE
This is one of three Vindolanda tablets showing the earliest extant example of writing in Latin by a woman's own hand. The letter was sent by Claudia Severa, wife of Aelius Brocchus, to Sulpicia Lepidina, wife of Flavius Cerealis, Prefect of the ninth cohort of Batavians stationed at the Roman fort in Vindolanda, Britain; the letter invites Lepidina to attend Severa's birthday party. Most of the letter is written by a scribe, but Severa added the last four lines (shown in this detail) in her own hand. These lines say “I will expect you, sister. Hail and farewell, sister, my dearest soul, so may I prosper.” The Latin text of these lines reads

       sperabo te soror
uale soror anima
mea ita ualeam
karissima et haue

London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: women, literacy

relief of a wedding procession; Roman
detail of right side. This may depict the introduction of the bride, heavily veiled, to the home of the groom's parents; the woman in the rear carrying a chest may represent the bride's dowry.
Rome, Vatican Museum, Hall of the Muses. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: marriage, family

statue of the goddess Tyche of Antioch; Roman
Tyche personified good luck, in this case the fortunes of the city of Antioch in Syria. She wears a mural crown, representing the walls of the city, and holds a sheaf of grain, representing fertility; her foot rests on a male figure rising from the waves, representing the river Orontes.
larger version; detail of the head of Tyche.
Rome, Vatican Museum, Gallery of the Candelabrum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: Fortuna

sarcophagus of a young man reclining on a couch; Roman, 270-290 CE
The sarcophagus was found in Catacombs of Cyriaca on the Via Tiburtina in Rome; it was restored in the eighteenth century by Giovanni Pierantoni. The deceased boy was apparently learned, since he holds a scroll in his left hand while a wax tablet lies open in front of him (see detail of the youth). His pet dog scratches his ear next to his master.
At the foot of the couch, a naked baby boy lies on a pillow, perhaps symbolizing the dead youth's infancy.
Rome, Vatican Museum, Gallery of the Candelabra. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: family, education, lectus

base of the above sarcophagus of a young man; Roman, 270-290 CE
The high relief depicts nine children holding masks, musical instruments and scrolls, perhaps symbolizing Muses, but certainly emphasizing the learning of the dead youth.
On the left side, one boy holds a mask and another holds a cithara and plectrum (pick); in the central scene, the dead youth sits on stool holding an open scroll, while a boy on his left writes on a wax tablet with a stylus, and a figure on his right (whose clothing suggests that she may be a girl) holds a closed scroll with a bundle of scrolls at her feet; on the right side, a boy holds a mask while another holds a double flute.
Rome, Vatican Museum, Gallery of the Candelabrum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: family, education

marble funerary relief of a freedman family, Roman, 30-20 BCE;
smaller version.
According to the inscription, Quintus Servilius Hilarus, freedman of Quintus Servilius, and his wife, Sempronia Eune, freedwoman of Gaius Sempronius, set up the monument for their freeborn son, Publius Servilius Globulus, son of Quintus. That the parents had been united in a citizen marriage is shown by his toga and her palla, stola, and ring. The boy's freeborn status is indicated by his bulla and toga praetexta; the pillar setting him off from his parents seems to mark the status difference.
Rome, Gregoriano Profano, Vatican Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: liberti, funerary, family

marble funerary relief of a freedman family, Roman, Augustan period;
smaller version.
Although there is no inscription, this relief clearly depicts the family of two freedpeople. The father is shown with a toga and the mother, with a simple Republican hairstyle, wears a tunic, palla, and ring. The freeborn son stands between them, wearing a bulla and beautifully draped toga praetexta; that he was the center of the family is shown by his position as he reaches out one arm to each of his parents, while his mother offers him bread and fruit for his journey to the Underworld and his father supportively rests one arm on his son's shoulder. There is a small bird on either side of the boy.
Rome, Chiaramonti corridor, Vatican Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: liberti, funerary, family

funerary tablet for Cadmus, Roman, imperial period;
smaller version.
According to the inscription, his mother made this tablet for her son, Cadmus, who was a barber, and for her partner. Cadmus and his mother were slaves. The reference of poplari [populari?] is unclear; perhaps it refers to the male slave who was the father of Cadmus.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: tombstone, slavery, family

funerary tablet for Aphrodisius, Roman, imperial period;
smaller version.
According to the inscription, Eutychus, bed-chamber attendant (cubicularius), made this tablet for his brother, Aphrodisius. The word velario (maker/repairer of awnings, sails, etc.), scratched below, probably refers to Aphrodisius' occupation, as do the drawings at the bottom of the tablet. Both Eutychus and Aphrodisius were slaves.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: tombstone, slavery, family

funerary tablet for Claudia Lachne, Roman, mid-first century CE;
smaller version.
According to the inscription, Philippus Rustianus, public slave who was custodian of the shrine (sacrarium) of the Deified Augustus set up on the Palatine by Livia, made this tablet for his wife, Claudia Lachne, freedwoman of Claudia Antonia, daughter of Claudius (who later became emperor) by his second wife, Aelia Paetina. Although he uses the word coniunx, slaves could not legally marry.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: tombstone, slavery, family, liberti

Portonaccio sarcophagus, Roman, 180-190 CE;
smaller version.
Probably made for a general or member of an aristocratic family who had served in the military, the body of the sarcophagus depicts a frenzied battle scene centering on the mounted general with a face prepared for a portrait but remaining unfinished. On either side are tall figures representing the defeated barbarians--on the left, a bearded man and young woman both wearing fringed mantles, and on the right, another bearded man and a disheveled woman with bared breast. Scenes on the lid of the sarcophagus celebrate the life course. On the left, we see the baby's first bath while the mother, with unfinished portrait face, looks on. Next, a young girl surrounded by women clasps a small container (pyxis), perhaps holding cosmetics. In the center is a wedding scene in which bride and groom, both with unfinished portrait faces, clasp right hands (dextrarum iunctio) with Concordia behind them as pronuba and Hymenaeus with torch before them. The right half of the lid depicts the general seated on a military stool (sella castrensis) while a barbarian man kisses his hand in submission. On the far right, a barbarian woman and child cower behind the general.
Rome, Palazzo Massimo, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: tombstone, family, funerary

large silver plate with gilded silver relief of the triumph of Cybele, modern replica of Roman original from late fourth century CE;
smaller version.
This Roman luxury item is known as the "Parabiago Plate" since it was found in an ancient Roman cemetery in Parabiago near Milan; the original plate is in the Archaeological Museum in Milan. The central scene depicts Cybele and Attis seated in a chariot pulled by 4 lions; around them dance 3 Coyrbantes, the mythic armed and helmeted young men who accompanied the Great Mother with orgiastic dancing. The goddess and her consort are shown in a cosmological setting. At the top of the plate, the sun god (Sol) drives his quadriga upward, led by the morning star (Phosphorus) holding a torch. To the right, the goddess of the moon (Luna) drives her biga, pulled by 2 bulls, led by the evening star (Hesperus) with downward-pointing torch. To the right of Cybele's chariot, a nude male rising from the earth holds up a zodiac inside which stands Aion, the Hellenistic god symbolizing unbounded, eternal time. Next to him a snake winds around an obelisk, symbolizing rebirth. At the bottom of the plate, a male and a female river deity converse on the left. In the lower center are erotes symbolizing the seasons (left to right, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) above the sea-deities Neptune and Thetis rising from fish-filled waters. On the lower left side, Tellus (Earth) reclines holding a cornucopia around which twines a snake. Above her head hover a grasshopper and a lizard, while 2 erotes point upwards toward Cybele.
EUR (Rome), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: mythology; religion; Magna Mater

detail of a second-style wall painting; Roman, first century CE
This detail shows a brightly colored peacock standing and gazing backwards before architectural columns that provide a trompe l'oeil vista in Rooom 15 of the villa, probably an oecus.
Oplontis, so-called Villa of Poppaea. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: bird; fresco

statue and inscribed base of Crepereia Innula; Roman, from Colonia Flavia Augusta Emerita Ammaedara (Tunisia), late second century CE;
smaller version;
statue without base;
detail: upper torso;
detail: inscription.
This unusually well-preserved life-size statue of a woman was found in 1962 near the modern city of Haidra in Tunisia during the course of work on a road, along with a bust of the same woman and a base for the bust carrying the same inscription. The statue was displayed in a private, rather than a public context, perhaps in a mausoleum, but its style echoes public honorific statues for female priestesses and patrons such as Plancia Magna. The inscription indicates that Titus Arranius Commodus set up the statue and the bust for his wife Crepereia Innula. Both were freeborn and undoubtedly dignitaries of Ammaedara. Innula may have been a priestess, since her left arm rests on an altar shaped like an incense burner (thymiaterion). She is conventionally dressed in a stola and palla; her right arm holds her palla up to her left shoulder in the pose called by modern art historians "the small Herculaneum woman." Her hairstyle, parted in the middle and drawn into a chignon on her neck, is similar to that worn by Faustina the Younger and Lucilla.
Tunis, Bardo Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: sacerdos; commemoration of women; funerary

inscribed statue base for Marcia Pompeiana; Roman, from Leptis Minor (or Leptiminus) in Tunisia, second century CE;
inscription;
inscription with "painted" letters to facilitate reading.
This base originally held an honorific statue of Marcia Pompeiana; it was placed in the public forum of the city of Leptiminus, along with other statues honoring the city's benefactors, including one of her husband, Marcus Nonius Capito. According to the inscription, Pompeiana came from the city of Caesarea (modern Chercel in Algeria). She was a priestess of the imperial cult, given the unusual title of flaminica perpetua.
Lamta Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: sacerdos; commemoration of women

portrait statue of a Roman woman; Roman, from north Africa, imperial period, probably late second - early third century CE;
detail: upper body;
detail: head and shoulders.
This life-size statue made from local marble depicts a woman wearing a long tunic belted high on her chest; she holds her palla around her hips.
Mahdia Regional Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: commemoration of women; provincial women

drawing of ancient workers quarrying marble, modern
detail: cutting marble;
detail: getting marble blocks ready for transport.
The drawing shows the quarry at Simitthus (modern Chemtou in Tunisia), producer of the north African yellow marble (giallo antico) so prized by the Romans.
Chemtou Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: building materials; commerce

tombstone of Fabia Fructosa, from Simitthus, end second century - first half of third century CE
The inscription names only Fabia Fructosa, but the stone shows two niches with figures carved in relief, Fructosa and a man, presumably her husband. Fructosa is shown wearing a Roman tunic and palla; in her left arm she holds a basket (probably a wool basket), while the object in her right hand is not clear, possibly skeins of wool or some kind of vegetation. The man is dressed in a tunic with narrow stripes and a toga; he stands near a burning altar above which are two implements, so he may be a priest. The inscription reads [D]IS M S / FABIA FRVCTOSA / VIX AN XX.
Chemtou Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: funerary; provincial women

funerary altar for Hostilia Asclepias, from Simitthus, end second century - first half of third century CE;
detail: inscription.
The inscription reads D M S / HOSTILIA / ASCLEPIAS / PIA VIXIT / ANNIS XXXV / M HOSTILIVS/ Q FIL QVIR / REGINVS LIB / ATQVE VXORI / OPTIMAE FE / CIT ET SIBI / T T L S.
Chemtou Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: funerary; provincial women

tombstone of Solutrica, from Simitthus, end second century - first half of third century CE
The stone shows two figures carved in relief; they appear almost identical but the inscription indicates that Solutrica stands on the left and her husband, Gaius Aurelius Primus, on the right. The inscription reads DIS M S H S / SOLVTRICA PIA / VIXIT ANNIS N XXXII on the left and C AVRELIVS / PRIMVS / CONIVG on the right.
Chemtou Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: funerary; provincial women

family tombstone, from Simitthus, first half of third century CE
This tall stele marks the grave of two generations of the same family. The top section contains a pedimented shrine divided into two sections with relief carvings of a woman and a man. The woman is dressed in a pleated tunic with two layers and holds a small cosmetic box (pyxis) in her hand; the man is dressed in a tunic and toga. Below these figures a tabula ansata divided into two inscriptions identifies the figures. The woman's inscription reads D M S / CORNELIA C F / OPTATA SIVE / VILLA PIA VI / XIT ANNIS / LV H S E. Part of the facing on the stone for the man's inscription is damaged, resulting in the loss of letters in the center. The museum has restored most of the letters, but unfortunately there is no way of knowing his age at death: D M S / P STABILIVS / M F [__]R / PIVS VIXIT / ANNIS [__] / H S E. The bottom section shows a smaller relief carving of a woman in a pedimented shrine, also wearing a pleated tunic. The inscription identifies her as the daughter of the couple above: D M S / STABILIA P FILIA RVS / TICA PIA VIXIT AN / NIS XXXV H S E. Abbreviations in vertical letters frame each side of the inscription: O T B Q on the left, and T T L S on the right.
Chemtou Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: funerary; provincial women

portrait of a woman, Roman, Luna marble, second century CE;
side view.
This may be a portrait of Domitia Lucilla, mother of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. The head was found amid rubble near the theater in Ostia.
Ostia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: imperial women

two silver cups (canthari) with herm portraits of Mark Antony and Octavian, Roman, late Republican, c. 40 BCE
These two drinking cups were part of a 20-piece set of silver dining utensils found in 2000 in modern Moregine (ancient Agro Muricene), near Pompeii. They had been carefully packed in a wicker basket and left in the basement of an unfinished public bath house; because of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, the owner was not able to retrieve them. Both cups depict the same genre scenes, but they are unique in including herms with portrait faces of the two individuals contending for power in the late Republic after the assassination of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. The herm of Octavian has a textile with a fringe tied around it and a palm branch extending outward, while the herm of Antony also has a fringed textile tied to the palm branch. Antony's portrait shows the same curly hair and deep-set eyes as his coin portraits, while Octavian's portrait emphasizes the youth and dreamy expression of his early coin portraits. On both cups in front of the herm stands a young Egyptian boy whose head is turned toward a lion's head fountain spilling water into a round basin, with a small animal, probably a mouse, at its base. The museum interprets this as a "young astrologer holding a celestial sphere," but the figure is very young, as shown by his chubby cheeks and shaven head and braided side lock, worn by Egyptian boys before puberty; the object in his hand could simply be a ball. The opposite side of both cups depicts a young girl offering a bunch of grapes to a chicken; she holds more grapes in a fold of her tunic. Her childlike figure, chubby cheeks, and melon hairdo emphasize her youth. The chicken stands on a wide pedestal above which hangs a wicker basket with carrying straps. Behind the girl is a tripod table with goats' legs on which are 3 silver vessels; hanging above these are a long cylinder and round pouch with a fringed textile behind. The museum interprets this as "a priestess of Isis proffering a bunch of grapes toward a cock on an altar, beyond which hangs a cysta mystica (ritual box). To her left is a table with silverware and a sacred idol of the Egyptian deity Osiris." However, nothing about the girl suggests a priestess of Isis, and she appears to be a child of about 6 or 7. The cups were clearly used, since all of the heads show shiny areas where details have been worn away by the rubbing of many hands. It is believed that these cups refer obliquely to the so-called Treaty of Brundisium, when Antony left Alexandria, where he had been dallying with Cleopatra, to meet Octavian in Brundisium and settle their differences, giving Octavian the leadership of the Roman West and Antony the Greek East (including Egypt) and sealing the pact with the marriage of Antony to Octavia, Octavian's half-sister. If so, this is a humorous and whimsical look at this event, unlike the serious historical/political reference of the somewhat later Boscoreale silver cups.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: luxury utensils; decorative arts

miniature silver table, Roman, early first century CE
This is one of 4 tiny silver tables (mensulae) from the Moregine silver treasure (see above for more information). It has beautifully detailed lion's paw feet and an egg-and-dart engraved border. Such small tables may have been used to serve dessert or a special delicacy.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: luxury utensils; decorative arts; dining

medallion from a Roman mosaic, from Augusta Treverorum, first half of the third century CE;
smaller version.
Inside the medallion a handsome stallion followed by a hound stands before several trees.
Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: dog; horse; animals

fragment of a Roman mosaic, from Augusta Treverorum, third century CE;
detail.
This partially restored mosaic depicts a bear eating fruit from a tree.
Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: animals

fragmentary third-style wall painting (restored), Roman, from Augusta Treverorum;
smaller version.
The central panel of this fresco depicts Medea aiding Jason as he attempts to seize the golden fleece from the serpent guarding it on Colchis.
Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: mythology; Argonautica

large mosaic depicting the nine muses, Roman, from Augusta Treverorum, mid-third century CE;
smaller version.
This mosaic adorned a building near the forum in Augusta Treverorum. Nine squares contained the heads of the muses, although most do not have specific attributes that allow secure identifications: according to the museum, Thalia, muse of comedy and pastoral (with a comic mask and shepherd's crook), occupies the upper left; Terpsichore, muse of choral poetry and dance (with a lyre), the upper center; Clio, muse of history (with a scroll), the upper right; Euterpe, muse of music (with a papyrus roll), the middle left; Calliope, muse of epic poetry, the middle center; Erato, muse of lyric poetry and love elegy (with a lyre), the middle right; Urania, muse of astronomy and cosmology (with a globe), the lower left; Polyhymnia, muse of sacred music, rhetoric, and pantomime, the lower center; and Melpomene, muse of tragedy, the lower right.
Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: mythology

part of large mosaic depicting muses, poets, and other literary figures, Roman, from Augusta Treverorum, end third - beginning fourth century CE;
more complete view of mosaic, showing that large sections are missing.
The mosaic was created for a wealthy aristocrat and signed by the artist, MONNVS FECIT, so that it is now known as the "Monnus mosaic." Each of the nine octagons originally depicted a muse accompanied by a famous man representing an appropriate branch of the arts or sciences (in the central octagon, for example, surviving inscriptions tell us that Homer was portrayed with Calliope, muse of epic poetry, and the allegorical figure Ingenium). The most complete octagon contains Hyagnis and Euterpe (smaller version). Hyagnis was a Phrygian, the mythical inventor of the flute; he stands by a chair and a container filled with scrolls and points toward Euterpe, muse of music, who holds two flutes (head of Euterpe). Another, partly extant octagon contains Aratus and Urania. Aratus was a Greek from Macedonia who wrote a didactic epic called Phaenomena which described the constellations and weather signs; he is seated next to a globe looking up at Urania, muse of astrology and cosmology. Eight smaller squares around the central octagon contain labelled busts of famous Greek and Roman authors, including Hesiod, Ennius, and Vergil (detail: Vergil).
Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2013
Keywords: literature; culture

bronze tablet attesting a chief Vestal's immunity from taxes, from Rome, mid-third century CE;
smaller version.
This small tablet (tabella immunitatis) certifies that Flavia Publicia, the Vestalis Maxima, is not required to pay taxes as a privilege of her position. The tablet is in the shape of a tabella ansata, with dovetail handles.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Lower Galleries). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: religion; Vestal Virgins

fragment of a bronze tablet attesting a chief Vestal's immunity from taxes, from Rome, mid-second century CE;
smaller version.
This small tablet (tabella immunitatis) certifies that Sossia, the Vestalis Maxima, is not required to pay taxes as a privilege of her position. The tablet is in the shape of a tabella ansata, with dovetail handles. The brief inscription reads SOSSIA[e] MAXI[mae] V[estalis] V[irginis].
Rome, Vatican Museums (Lower Galleries). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: religion; Vestal Virgins

"Aldobrandini Wedding" fresco, from Rome, late first century BCE (early Augustan period);
smaller version.
This fresco, popularly known by the name of the Italian family that owned it before it was purchased by the Vatican, was removed from the wall of a late first-century BCE Roman house on the Esquiline Hill in 1601, one of the earliest large-scale Roman frescoes known before the re-discovery of Pompeii. It has been traditionally interpreted as depicting a Roman wedding, though more recent interpretations have focused on mythological themes, including an allusion to the Alcestis of Euripides. In the central scene (smaller version), a veiled woman with downcast eyes sits on a beautifully draped lectus, while a semi-nude, partially veiled woman wearing a myrtle wreath comforts her. On the left, another semi-nude woman (smaller version), leans on a column and pours perfumed oil into a large scallop shell; her jewelry and diadem, plus the shell, suggest associations with Venus. In the left corner, a veiled woman holding a leaf-shaped fan (smaller version), lifts her hand over a basin while two boys assist her; at the foot of the basin's pedestal rests a large tablet. On the other side of the lectus, a semi-nude young male wearing a garland of grapes and ivy (smaller version), suggesting Dionysus, reclines on a low stool. Three figures (smaller version) stand in the right corner. The first woman pours incense into a thymiaterion (incense burner). The androgynous figure in the center wears a rayed crown, while the woman on the far right plays a tortoise-shell lyre.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: bride; marriage; wall painting

fragment of a fresco depicting scenes from a calendar of religious scenes, Ostia, from a building near the Porta Laurentina, early third century CE (209-211?);
smaller version.
All the scenes involve children. The scene on the left shows two boys pulling a wheeled cart containing a small boat; this may represent the maritime festival of the navigium Isidis (the boat of Isis), celebrated on March 5. In the center scene, four boys stand in a circle; one appears to hold flowers. The scene on the right depicts three boys and two girls in procession, possibly in celebration of the birthday of the emperor Septimius Severus (April 11). One of the boys carries a flaglike banner on a pole (vexillum) topped with three portrait heads, suggesting an association with the imperial cult. The two girls are dressed like priestesses (except for the shortness of their tunics), and the older girl holds a patera and wears what appears to be the diadem of the flaminica, adorned with small imperial portrait busts.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: religion; festival; children

another fragment of the fresco depicting scenes from a calendar of religious scenes, Ostia, from a building near the Porta Laurentina, early third century CE (209-211?);
smaller version.
All the scenes involve children. The scene on the left shows four cloaked boys holding up burning torches toward a small statue of Diana on a column flanked by torches. This may represent a celebration of the dies natalis Dianae on the Ides of August. The scene on the right depicts five cloaked boys in procession, two carrying baskets of grapes and two carrying poles with hanging bunches of grapes and topped with an imperial portrait, possibly representing a grape-harvest festival celebrated in September.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: religion; festival; children

fresco depicting a river boat being loaded with sacks of grain, Ostia, from columbarium #31 in the necropolis along the Via Laurentina, first half of the third century CE;
smaller version.
This fresco has been considerably restored. The boat is a navis caudicaria (also spelled codicaria) that would be towed up the Tiber to Rome; its name, Isis Giminiana (painted next to the boat's stern), reflects the fact that a good portion of Rome's grain supply came from Egypt. The pilot (Farnaces magister) stands at the stern. In the center of the boat the owner (Arascanius, who is probably the deceased), assists in the pouring of grain into a large measure (modius); the sack that the worker is emptying is labeled RES (for res frumentaria). Behind Arascanius stands a port official (mensor frumentarius) holding a measuring stick (or possibly a branch). Another worker sits next to an empty sack labeled FECI ("I have done it"). Two more workers haul full sacks onto the boat via a gangplank.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: shipping; economy; annona; commerce

second-style mosaic depicting Plato's Academy; Roman, from the Villa of T. Siminius Stephanus in Pompeii; early first century BCE
An elaborate border of leaves, fruits, and comic masks frames the central scene, which shows seven men wearing garments associated with Greek philosophers and orators of the classical period. The acropolis of Athens appears in the upper right corner. These two seated figures are thought to represent Lysias, on the left, and Plato, on the right.
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: Greek philosophy; philosophical school

inscription for Thetis and Charis, Roman, Luna marble, Flavian period (first century CE)
This funerary plaque, found on the Via Appia in Rome, is dedicated to the deceased sisters Thetis (9) and Charis (15) by their freed parents Tiberius Claudius Panoptes and Charmosyne. The inscription asks the viewer who does not believe in manes (spirits of the dead) to invoke the spirits of these girls. Panoptes also dedicated the plaque to his fellow freedman Eunus, the girls' tutor/childminder. Above the inscription (not visible in this photo) are two small female busts with Flavian hairstyles, a wreath, and flowers (see this photo).
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: tombstone; freedpeople

inscription for Eutychia, from the Via Appia, Rome
This funerary plaque is dedicated to the deceased Eutychia, a six-year-old verna (home-bred slave). The pediment depicts a simple line drawing of a wreath with ribbons.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: tombstone; slavery; inscription

inscription for Timothea, from the Via Appia, Rome
Marcus Ulpius Nicanor, a freedman, dedicated this funerary plaque to the deceased Timothea, his verna (home-bred slave). Timothea may have been murdered, since the inscription commits the man who laid hands on her to the god Sol Invictus. The pediment contains a relief of two raised hands, palms facing outward.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: tombstone; slavery; violence

funerary plaque for Severa, from the Via Appia, Rome
This inscription commits whoever harmed the undeserving Severa to Sol Invictus, asking that the god give evidence about her death. The pediment contains a relief of two raised hands, palms facing outward.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2014
Keywords: tombstone; violence; murder

fragment of trophy frieze, Roman, supposedly found in Cumae, first century CE
This marble relief depicts the goddess Roma surrounded by captured shields, weapons, armor, standards.
Berlin, Pergamon Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: military; booty; spoils

marble cinerary urn, found on the Via Latina in Rome, 120-150 CE
Sextus Allidius Symphorus made this urn for himself, his wife, Allidia Hymnis, their son, Sextus Allidius Hymenaeus, and his sister, Allidia Atticila (see inscription). The relief depicts a wedding scene (dextrarum iunctio) between open doors with carved lion's heads.
Copenhagen, NY Carlsberg Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: funerary; wedding; tomb

revised March, 2015