Ancient Rome. Visualizing Imperial Rome. Digging through time. Pompeii: House of the Vettii. Veristic Male Portrait. Head of a Roman Patrician. Augustus of Primaporta. Augustus of Primaporta. This is the currently selected item. Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) Imperial fora. Forum and Markets of Trajan. The Forum of Trajan Aug 30, · This is an ancient marble copy of a shield called the clipeus virtutis awarded to Augustus in 27 BCE and hung in the Senate House in Rome. The central inscription notes its Jan 29, · Varro, a Republican Roman antiquarian, dated the founding of Rome to the 21st of April B.C. While canonical, the date is most likely wrong. The fall of Rome also has a traditional date -- about a millennium later, on September 4, A.D. , a date established by the historian Edward Gibbon
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over here. The intimacy of this clay sculpture is unprecedented in the ancient world. What can it rome essay us about Etruscan culture? Sarcophagus rome essay the Spouses or Sarcophagus with Reclining Couplefrom the Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy, rome essay, c.
Sarcophagus of the Spousesc, rome essay. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses is an anthropoid human-shapedpainted terracotta sarcophagus found in the ancient Etruscan rome essay of Caere now Cerveteri, Italy. The sarcophagus, which would have originally contained cremated human remains, was discovered during the course of archaeological excavations in the Banditaccia necropolis of ancient Caere during the nineteenth century and is now in Rome. The sarcophagus is quite similar to another terracotta sarcophagus from Caere depicting a man and woman that is presently housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris; these two sarcophagi are contemporary to one another and are perhaps the products of the same artistic workshop.
Upper bodies detailSarcophagus of the Spousesc. The sarcophagus depicts a reclining man and woman on its lid. The pair rests on highly stylized cushions, just as they would have done at an actual banquet.
The body of the sarcophagus is styled so as to resemble a kline dining couch. Both figures have highly stylized hair, in each case plaited with the stylized braids hanging rather stiffly at the sides of the neck.
The female wears a soft cap atop her head; she also wears shoes with pointed toes that are characteristically Etruscan. Both figures have elongated proportions that are at home in the archaic period in the Mediterranean. Feet and shoes detailRome essay of the Spousesc. The S arcophagus of the Spouses has been interpreted as belonging rome essay a banqueting scene, with the couple reclining together on a single dining couch while eating and drinking, rome essay.
This situates the inspiration for the sarcophagus squarely in the convivial social sphere and, as we are often reminded, conviviality was central to Etruscan mortuary rituals. Etruscan funerary art—including painted tombs—often depicts scenes of revelry, perhaps as a reminder of the funeral banquet that would send the deceased off to the afterlife or perhaps to reflect the notion of perpetual conviviality in said afterlife, rome essay.
Whatever the case, banquets provide a great deal of iconographic fodder for Etruscan artists, rome essay. Banquet Plaque detail from Poggio Civitate, rome essay, early 6th century B. In the case of the sarcophagus it is also important to note that at Etruscan banquets, men and women reclined and ate together, a circumstance that was quite different from other Mediterranean cultures, especially the Greeks.
We see multiple instances of mixed gender banquets across a wide chronological range, leading us to conclude that this was common practice in Etruria.
Rome essay terracotta plaque from Poggio Civitate, Murlo abovefor instance, that is roughly contemporary to the sarcophagus of the spouses shows a close iconographic parallel for this custom.
This cultural custom generated some resentment—even animus—on the part of Greek and Latin authors in antiquity who saw this Etruscan practice not just as different, but took it as offensive behavior. Women enjoyed a different and more privileged status in Etruscan society than did their Greek and Roman counterparts. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses is a masterwork of terracotta sculpture.
Painted terracotta sculpture played a key role in the visual culture of archaic Etruria. Terracotta artwork was the standard for decorating the superstructure of Etruscan temples and the coroplastic terracotta workshops producing these sculptures rome essay displayed a high level of technical achievement.
This is due, in part, to the fact that ready sources of marble were unknown in archaic Italy. Even though contemporary Greeks produced masterworks in marble during the sixth century B. Contemporary Greek colonists in Italy also produced rome essay level terracotta statuary, as exemplified by the seated statue of Zeus from Poseidonia later renamed Paestum that dates c. Seated statue of Zeus from Poseidonia Paestum c. In the case of the Caeretan sarcophagus, it is an especially challenging commission.
Given its size, it would have been fired in multiple pieces. The composition of the reclining figures shows awareness of Mediterranean stylistic norms in that their physiognomy reflects an Ionian influence Ionia was a region in present-day Turkey, that was a Greek colony —the rounded, serene faces and the treatment of hairstyles would have fit rome essay with contemporary Greek styles.
However, the posing of the figures, the angular joints of the limbs, and their extended fingers and toes reflect local practice in Etruria. In short, the artist and his workshop are aware of global trends while also catering to a local audience.
While we cannot identify the original owner of the sarcophagus, it is clear that the person s commissioning it would have been a member of the Caeretan elite, rome essay. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses as an object conveys a great deal of information about Etruscan culture and its customs. The convivial theme of the sarcophagus reflects the funeral customs of Etruscan society and the elite nature of rome essay object itself provides important information rome essay the ways in which funerary custom could reinforce the rome essay and standing of aristocrats among the community of the living.
This sculpture at the Louvre Museum, rome essay. Bonfante, ed. Briguet, Le sarcophage des époux de Cerveteri du Musée du Louvre. Florence: Leo Olschki, Haynes, Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications, Zaccaria Ruggiu, rome essay, More regio vivere: il banchetto aristocratico e la casa romana di età arcaica Rome: Edizioni Quasar, More Smarthistory images….
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Roma Explained: The Beauty We Overlook (Oscars 2019)
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Jan 29, · Varro, a Republican Roman antiquarian, dated the founding of Rome to the 21st of April B.C. While canonical, the date is most likely wrong. The fall of Rome also has a traditional date -- about a millennium later, on September 4, A.D. , a date established by the historian Edward Gibbon Jan 01, · Impact Of The Punic Wars On Rome History Essay. Info: words (3 pages) Essay Published: 1st Jan in History. Reference this Share this: Facebook. Twitter. Reddit. LinkedIn. WhatsApp The Punic Wars had a number of important impacts to the Roman society and politics. By BC, Rome was a very different country then before the Punic Wars Last Judgment - Essay by Dr. Esperanca Camara Michelangelo, Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, altar wall, fresco, (Vatican City, Rome). Google Classroom Facebook Twitter
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