Go to Images Part I; Images Part II; Images Part III; Images Part IV; Images Part V; Images Part VI; Images Part VII; Images Part VIII; Images Part X; Images Part XI; Images Part XII
Young Girl, marble portrait bust
The child must have belonged to a prominent family, judging from the quality of the sculpture. The back is unfinished, suggesting it was intended for a niche. Roman, 180-200 CE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: children, death, Empire
Diadem, gold filigree, Persian style
The beautifully crafted headband has attachments of flaming torches and is closed by a Herakles knot; tassels hang from it, ending with gemstone beads. Part of an ensenble of jewelry probably owned by a wealthy Ptolemaic noblewoman. Greek, from Alexandria, Egypt, 220-100 BCE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: jewellry, women, costume, Hellenistic
Hairnet, gold filigree and enamel
The hairnet was made to cover a bun in back of the head, with a bust of a crowned woman in the center and pendent tassels of gold and gemstones. Probably owned by a wealthy Ptolemaic noblewoman, it belongs to an ensemble that includes the diadem and other gold jewelry. Greek, from Alexandria, Egypt, 220-100 BCE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: jewellry, women, costume, Hellenistic
Aphrodite Weighing Love, gold, incised
Seated, the goddess holds a scale on either pendant of which is a figure of Eros, the winged god of love. Greek, c. 350 BCE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: jewellry, women, Hellenistic
Small jar, glass, enamel, bronze
Container made of hexagonal glass mosaic panels, with a handle, for cosmetics. Gallo-Roman, 200-250 CE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: women, toilette
Perfume vessel, bronze, enamel
Round jar (aryballos) with pentagonal designs for scented oil, with handle. Gallo-Roman, 70-100 CE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: women, toilette
Theater ticket, ivory
Carved with an obelisk and a temple; inscription on the reverse: IIII Nikopolis &Eth;. Roman, 100-200 CE. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: theater, drama
Columbarium, Villa Ruffini
Arched niches to hold cinerary urns of the dead; the openings had modest labels identifying the deceased by name and often occupation. Drawing from Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities. 1898. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: tombs, death, monuments
Columbarium, fresco wall
Arched niches for the cinerary urns of the dead; below each opening is a tabula ansata, a placard for the name of the deceased. The bands separating the rows are painted with images from life and nature (closeup; detail from a different section). Villa Doria Panfilji. Rome, 1 century CE. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: tomb, death, monuments, burial
Publia Maximina, marble
"The Trentham Lady" is a full-length statue of a young woman, apparently funerary, enveloped in her cloak and veiled. Perhaps Greek in origin (c. 300 BCE), it was re-used in Italy as a funerary statue. Inscription added on the base: P. Maximina Sextili Clementis belongs to 130-100 BCE. London: British Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2010.
Keywords: death, dress, women, sculpture
Octavia, marble
Full-length statue of a veiled young woman holding a scroll, enveloped in her cloak and veiled. The head is a portrait of Augustus' sister Octavia. Late 1st century BCE. Naples: Archaeological Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: dress, women, sculpture, Principate
Ara Pacis, marble relief
Outer side of the inner altar showing the sacrificial animals being led to the altar (details of end and beginningof the procession. 13 BCE. Rome. Credits: Ann Raia, 2007.
Keywords: monument, religion, Principate, Augustus, Altar of Peace
Guard dog, mosaic
Pavement from a villa along the Via Salaria. 2-3 century CE. Rome: Olearia Exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia, 2007.
Keywords: house, animals, domestic
Cantinea Procla, marble funerary altar
Erected by her husband C. Iulius Hermes for his wife, a priestess of Isis. On the front is a relief portrait of Isis/priestess holding a situla and sistrum; inscription: Dis Manibvs/ Cantineae M[arci] F[iliae] Proclae C[aius]/ Ivlivs Hermes conivgi pientiss[imae]/ bene merenti fecit; left side with image of closed cista mystica enveloped by a cobra; angle view; right side with image of open cista mystica guarded by a serpent. Flavian period (69-96 CE). CIL 6.34776. Rome, Via Ostia. Museo Terme di Diocleziano. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: religion, goddess, mystery, Egypt, women
Lucius Junius Brutus, bronze head
(side 1; side 2). Founder of the Republic, he expelled the Tarquins after the rape of Lucretia and became a symbol for liberty. 4-3 century BCE. Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2007.
Keywords: Republic, consul, politics, statesman
Luna marble frieze from the Temple of Vulcan/Hephaestus narrating the myth of the life of the god of fire; only 4 blocks remain, running right to left.
Scene 1: Birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, from which Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth, flees. Scene 2: After the birth of Vulcan, his mother Juno/Hera watches him walk awkwardly. Scene 3: Juno throws the child Vulcan, dressed as a craftsman in short tunic and cap holding his tools, from Olympus; Athena awaits him on Lemnos. Scene 4: Gathering of the gods: Athena and others, Poseidon and others, at the birth of Erechthonios (snake), child of Vulcan and Gaia; he is sent to be nurtured by Athena who awaits him beside her olive tree. 2nd century CE. Ostia Museum and Berlin Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2007.
Keywords: mythology, religion, gods, mother
Altar to Isis, white marble
Carved on the front is the cista mystica, a woven wicker basket used for housing the sacred snake; side 2: Anubis, apparently in Roman dress, holds the feather of Maat in his left hand and a flail or fetish in his right hand (detail); side 3: an unclothed acolyte/eunuch holds a cornucopia. 1st half 1st century CE. From Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Rome Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Religion, Egypt, death, gods
Pelagian Isis, marble
Fragmentary architectonic high relief. Mid-1st century CE. Found on Via del Mare. Special Exhibit: Divus Vespasianus. Rome, Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Egyptian, religion, sculpture, goddess, East
Isis, Pentelic marble head
Fragmentary. Perhaps a Ptolomaic Queen portrayed as Isis. 2nd century BCE. Found near Church of Peter and Marcellinus. Special Exhibit: Divus Vespasianus. Rome, Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Egyptian, religion, sculpture, goddess
Prosperity, marble full-length statue
The draped woman holds a cornucopia, sign of fertility and prosperity. She may once also have held a garland. The head is crowned, clearly a portrait. 2nd century CE. Rome, Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: women, religion, dress, sculpture
Mercury, marble
Statue of the messenger god Hermes holding a purse and the caduceus, from a Greek original of the 4th century BCE. Rome, Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Olympian, religion, sculpture
Diana, marble
Statue of the goddess Artemis with her dog, dressed for the hunt, from a Greek original of the 4th century BCE. From Tivoli, Villa D'Este. Rome, Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Olympian, religion, sculpture
Altar of Caenis, marble
This funerary altar to Antonia Caenis, mistress of Vespasian and freedwoman of Antonia Minor, daughter of Octavia and Marc Antony, was set up by her freedman on the estate of her villa on the Via Nomentana in Rome. Inscription: DIS MANIB[us]/ ANTONIAE AVG[ustae]/ L[ibertae] CAENIDIS/ OPTVMAE PATRON[ae]/ AGLAVS L[IBERTUS]CUM AGLAO/ ET GLENE ET AGLAIDE/ FILIIS. Side 1: relief of two figures (perhaps a male and a female) riding on swans, holding inverted and intertwined laurel branches; Side 2: relief of two winged cherubs holding a large floral garland with vittae tied on either end. The back of the altar (no photo) bears a relief of two trees. 1st century CE. Special exhibit: Divus Vespasianus in Rome at the Colosseum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Empire, Vespasian, concubine, death, women, class
Capitoline Triad, marble sculpture group
A representation of the central pediment of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the only 3-dimensional one known of the Temple from the post-80 CE fire) with 3 differences: the position of Juno and Minerva are reversed, all three gods sit on one throne, the birds of the goddesses are present. From Guidonia near Rome (Palestrina Archaeological Museum). Special exhibit: Divus Vespasianus at the Capitoline museums. 2nd century CE. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Olympian, religion
Ritual Garland, marble
Relief of the interior wall enclosure of the Ara Pacis. In imitation of an outdoor scene, the sacred garland of fruit and branches, tied with flowing vittae (sacred ribbons), hangs between columns with acanthus leaf capitals, from the horns of the Augustan boucrania; a patera (ritual libation bowl) sits on the wall above and in the middle of the swag. Rome. 13 BCE. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: religion, principate, altar
Marc Antony, silver Cistophorus
Obverse: head of Antony wearing ivy wreath, in the image of Bacchus, with a lituus below. Encircled by M[arcus] ANTONIVS IMP[erator] CO[n]S[ul] DESIC[gnatus] ITER[um] ET TERT[ium]; the whole within wreath of ivy leaves and berries. Reverse: Cista mystica between two interlaced serpents with draped bust of Octavia above. IIIVIR on left, R P C on right (IIIVIR Rei Publicae Constituendae = 2nd Triumvirate). Struck in Asia in 39 BCE. From Bibliotheque Nationale. Cluny Exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Republic, civil war, coin
Fasces, marble relief
Sole carving on a funerary altar, they are a symbol of punishment (rods bundled with an ax) meted out by magistrates with imperium (praetor, dictator, consul) and carried by lictors. Rome, Capitoline Museums. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: Republic, government
gold aureus of Vespasian, mint of Rome, 77-78 CE
The obverse shows the emperor wearing a laurel-leaf crown with the inscription IMP[erator] CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG[ustus].
The reverse depicts the
emperor standing holding a spear and short, sheathed sword; a winged Victory, holding a palm branch in her left
arm, stands behind him and crowns him with a wreath. The
Victory wears a melon hairdo and has a distinctive, individualized face. The inscription reads CO[n]S[ul] VIII. The coin was found in the Casa Bracciale D'Oro in Pompeii and is in the collection of the Naples Archaeological Museum.
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia (photo), Barbara McManus (process), 2009
Keywords: Empire, Flavian, coinage
gold aureus of Vespasian, mint of Rome, 73CE
The reverse depicts the Temple of Vesta as a round temple with 4 columns and the statue of Vesta within; there is a statue on either side of the temple. The coin was found in the Casa Bracciale D'Oro in Pompeii and is in the collection of the Naples Archaeological Museum.
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia (photo), Barbara McManus (process), 2009
Keywords: Empire, Flavian, coinage, religion
Villa of the Mysteries: Triclinium frescoes of Preparation for Wedding/Dionysiac Initiation
Preparation: maiden, attendant, Eros holding a mirror (detail); Domina: note the wedding ring in the detail view.
Pompeii, mid-1st century CE. Credits: Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, 2009.
Keywords: women, house, dress, marriage
Cinerary urn, terracotta
This Villanovan urn for cremated ashes is elliptical, like the huts on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It has a conical roof with ridgepoles; the door has been removed. The stick figure over the entry (side 1, side 2) may have been intended to protect the soul of the deceased.
9th century BCE. New York: Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art. Credits: Ann Raia, 2010
Keywords: death, house, burial, Italic
model of the Meta Sudans, modern
This tall, conical fountain erected by Domitian stood outside the Colosseum.
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia (photo), Barbara McManus (process), 2009
Keywords: city of Rome
drawing of cross-section of Colosseum cavea, modern, with seating areas labeled
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia (photo), Barbara McManus (process), 2009
Keywords: city of Rome; Flavian amphitheater
model of podium in Colosseum cavea, modern, with labels
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia (photo), Barbara McManus (process), 2009
Keywords: city of Rome; Flavian amphitheater
model of hoists to raise animals and scenery into Colosseum, modern
The model shows the way in which cages for animals and lifts for scenery were raised toward trapdoors in the floor of the arena during the late Flavian period, using a system of ropes, winches, counter-weights, and ramps.
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia (photo), Barbara McManus (process), 2009
Keywords: city of Rome; Flavian amphitheater
lead counter-weights and Travertine pillar, Roman, third century CE
A system of lead counter-weights and ropes which passed through pulleys inserted in vertical Travertine pillars were used to operate the winches and hoists that raised the animal cages to floor of the arena.
Rome, Colosseum, Divus Vespasianus exhibit. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: city of Rome; Flavian amphitheater
Colosseum arena
View looking toward the eastern entrance, showing the wide central corridor and series of concentric corridors under the arena floor, which was made of wood covered with sand.
Rome, Colosseum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: city of Rome; Flavian amphitheater
Melpomene: muse of tragedy Marble statue of a woman with a tablet in one hand; her other is poised to hold a now lost stylus.
Copenhagen, Glyptotek Ny Carlsberg. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: coin, Empire, women
Standing woman in marbleDraped closely in a palla with melon hairdo of the 2nd century CE.
Copenhagen, Glyptotek Ny Carlsberg. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: Empire, women, clothing
Funerary Altar of Julia Victorina, marble
Portrait on the front of the 10 year old girl at her death, garlanded in a floral frame, and on the back as the young matrona she would never become. Trees on each (side). Inscription. Last quarter of the 1st century CE. Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009.
Keywords: children, relief, sculpture, death
Pietas: aureus Pietas, draped and crowned, holds a child in one arm and a globe in her right hand; two girls in long dresses stand beside her, looking up at her and pointing. Inscr: PIETATI AUG COS IIII. Reverse of a coin of Antoninus Pius, minted in Rome 159-60 CE.
Copenhagen, National Gallery. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: Empire, women, family, religion, coins
Julia Mamaea and Alexander Severus:obverse Bronze medallion. Inscr: IMP ALEXANDER PIUS AUG JULIA MAMAEA AUG MATER AUG. Rome 231-235 CE.
Copenhagen, National Gallery. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: Empire, women, family, regent, coins
Grave relief in marble
Boy and girl; the girl is surrounded by a crescent moon and stars, implying that she has been translated to the heavens. Rome. c. 180 CE
Copenhagen, National Gallery. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: girl, death, family
Wedding Sarcophagus: striated marble Relief of rite of dextrarum iunctio. Unnamed but prominent couple in civic dress clasps hands before a small blazing altar and the Pronuba, here Concordia, surrounded by personifications carrying attributes: to the left are Portus and Annona; to the right are the Genius of the Senate, Abundantia, and Africa. Found on Rome's Via Latina. 270-80 CE.
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: death, Empire, marriage, dress, sculpture
Empress Sabina: marble bust
Vibia Sabina (87/8-136/7 CE), Augusta; daughter of Matidia and Sabinus, grand-niece of Emperor Trajan, bride (in 100 CE) of Emperor Hadrian. Found on the Via Appia. c. 135 CE
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire, women, sculpture
Empress Salonina (?): marble head
Cornelia Salonina (mid-3rd century CE), Augusta; wife of Gallienus (Emperor 253-268 CE). Neo-Platonist, Greek-speaking. Found in the mercato antiquario. 250-260 CE
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire, women, sculpture
Empress Etruscilla (?): marble head
Annia Cupressenia Herennia Etruscilla (c. 230 CE), Augusta; wife of Trajan Decius (Emperor 249-251 CE), mother of Emperors Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian. Found in Via Appia Nuova. c. 250 CE
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire, women, sculpture
Empress Tranquillina (?): marble head
Furia Sabinia Tranquillina (225-after 244 CE), Augusta; wife of Gordian III (Emperor 238-244 CE). Found in Poggio Sommavilla. c. 250 CE
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire, women, sculpture
Plautilla: marble head
The empress as a girl. Found in Mercato antiquario. 202-205 CE
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire, women, sculpture, child
Faustina Minor: marble statue
The veiled empress wears a stola and holds a scroll and a globe in each hand. Rome, 160 CE
Rome: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (National Museums). Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire, women, sculpture, dress
Emperor Claudius: sardonyx cameo
Profile portrait of the 4th emperor of Rome (41-54 CE) crowned with a laurel wreath and wearing an aegis breastplate. Rome, 41-43CE.
Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: Empire,
Britannicus: bronze coin Head of the son of the Emperor Claudius and his wife Messalina. c. 50 CE.
Copenhagen, Glyptotek Ny Carlsberg. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: coin, Empire, child
Grave relief marble
Tombstone of freed parents (Quintus Servilius Hilarus and Sempronia Eune) and their small freeborn son (Publius Servilius Quinti Filius Globulus), who wears a bulla. One of the earliest funerary reliefs to include a child. CIL 6.16410. Rome 30-20 BCE.
Vatican Museums: Gregoriano. Credits: Ann Raia, 2007
Keywords: death, family, class
Tombstone relief in marble
Bust of the deceased above the inscription, dedicated by her husband Annius Telesphorus.
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: women, death, marriage
Relief of Gods in marble
Jupiter, Pluto & Persephone, Neptune & Amphitrite.
Rome, Altemps Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: religion, goddess, myth
Relief of Dioscouri in marble
Castor, Pollux and a procession of worshippers led by a priestess.
Rome, Altemps Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: religion, heroes, gods, myth
Relief of Gods 3 in marble
Neptune, Apollo, Cybele, Luna, Mercury, Hephaistos, Helios, Mars, Venus, Hercules, Bacchus.
Rome, Altemps Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: religion, heroes, gods, myth
Urn of marble in the shape of an altar
Dedicated to Cornelia Cleopatra by her parents: inscription, CIL 6. 16368; crown with sphinx; reclining deceased relief; heads of Zeus Ammon; side showing patera; side showing jug. 100-150 CE.
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: women, death, family
Iulia Synegoris: her portrait bust crowns her marble tombstone, dedicated by by her father, C. Iulius Agathopus; inscription (CIL VI.20694). Flavian period.
Rome: Capitoline, Palazzo Nuovo. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: women, death, family
Bust of a woman: marble This portrait of a mature woman of the elite class may be of Domitia, wife of Domitian. Her hairstyle (side view) was popular during the Flavian/Trajanic period (69-117 CE). The nose, tip of hair, and drapery have been restored.
San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2011
Keywords: woman, Empire, sculpture
Cupid and Psyche: marble life-size sculpture A draped Psyche wearing a snood holds a candle and a butterfly which a childlike Cupid observes (side view); the back view) displays his embrace and their different wing shapes. From Hadrian's villa in Tivoli, 117-138 CE.
San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2011
Keywords: religion, Empire, myth
Fundilia, marble, life-size statue
She is identified by an inscription as the daughter of Gaius Fundilius and patron of Fundilius Doctus, a mime actor freed by her family. Fundilia was a wealthy woman who seems to have supported a troupe of mimes, but her heavily draped pose and severe expression proclaim her a traditional matrona. Roman, Sanctuary of Diana at Nemi, 1st century CE
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Credits: Ann Raia, 2008
Keywords: patron, theater, women, Empire
Birth panel marble
Detail of the nurse bathing the child. The relief frieze on the front of this biographical sarcophagus contains (left to right) scenes from the life of the deceased (who looks Trajanic): pacification, administration of the defeated, sacrifice before a temple, marriage before a pronuba. Rome, 160-180 CE.
Los Angeles, County Museum of Art. Credits: Ann Raia, 2009
Keywords: funeral, death, Empire, wedding
Senatorial Sarcophagus in high relief white marble This large damaged biographical sarcophagus (called "The Brothers Sarcophagus") features identical men with short straight hair and short curly beard wearing a senatorial stripe and a plain toga, consulting and speaking. The scene at the right depicts a marriage; the deceased stands with his bride (dextrarum iunctio) in the presence of the Genius of the Roman People (?Hymenaeus? with a cornucopia), while Venus Felix (Cupid in background) crowns her; between the couple stands the Pronuba (Juno?). Roman, c. 260CE.
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2010
Keywords: woman, Empire, wedding, funeral, death
Funerary Altar of Cominia Tyche in marble
Dedicated by her husband Lucius Annius Festus (inscription). Portrait of 27 year old Tyche in a Flavian hairstyle. This stele stood inside or outside a tomb where her remains were buried (side view 1; side view 2). CIL VI.16054. Rome, 90-100 CE.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Ann Raia, 2007
Keywords: death, woman, Empire, sculpture
Tombstone in marble Dedicated by her husband M. Statilius Augustalis to Babullia Varilla, a priestess of Isis; she holds the sistrum and situla (side containing cista mystica). Roman, 2nd century CE. CIL VI.13454
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Ann Raia, 2010
Keywords: woman, Empire, religion, funeral, death
Go to Images Part I; Images Part II; Images Part III; Images Part IV; Images Part V; Images Part VI; Images Part VII; Images Part VIII; Images Part X; Images Part XI; Images Part XII
January 2011
