ιστορία (The Roman Newspaper)
By: Marina Fargas
Sarcophagus Panel with Medusa and Theader Masks
Roman, A.D. 149-178
Made out of marble
This Panel from a four sided sarcophagus ( coffin ) is richly decorated with two theater masks flanking the head of the Medusa, framed by lush floral swags held up by Cupids and winged figures of victory. The masks and the snaky-haired Medusa relate to Roman funerary beliefs; Medusa was thought to ward off evil, while makes symbolized the cult of Dionysos and its association with passage to the afterlife.
Kouros
Greek, about 530 B.C. or modern forgery
Marble
Carved with modern power tools in Italy in the 1980s.
Statues of nude young men, called kouroi, represented the Greek physical ideal during Archaic period (700-480 B.C.). More than fifteen years have passed science the museum acquired his kouros, and it has undergone countless hours of study and research. Nonetheless, experts are still divided about its authenticity. The Getty kouros is not an obvious forgery. Its style and the type of marble its carved are unique in structures of this land.
Athlete
Roman, A.D. 75-100
Marble
This elongated body and soft facial features of this sculpture follow the style of the Greek sculptor Lysippos (active about 370-315 B.C.). The work of Lysippos, who was famous for his statues of athletes, was favored by the Romans, and many Roman sculptures were carved in his manner. This figure is marked by long proportions, lighter musculature, and a more nuanced pose. The sculptor's approach features a restless energy, conveying the sense of an action caught in time.
Venus
Ceremonial Seat
Greek, from Athens, 400-300 B.C
Made out of marble
With its high, curved back and front legs in the floor of lion's proedria (marble seats) is of type reserved from dignitaritarious chareceter. Similar seats were used by the priest of Dionysos in the Theater of Dionysos, located on the slope beneath the Parmenonon the Athenian Acropolis. This chair was documented in Athensas early as 1782; in 1818 it was in the collection of Thomas Bruce (British, 1766-1841), seventh Earl of Elign. The grand proportions and carved details provide important evidence for ancient domestic furniture designs in wood. The prominent reliefs on each side depiciting historical and mythological precendents for Atherian political dominance, are uniquely paired to communicate a potent message of civic prade.
Head of Young Bacchus
Roman, A.D. 1-50
Bronze and silver
The ivy-crowned head of Bacchus (god of wine) was originally part of a life -size bronze statue. The whites of the eyes are enhanced with silver (now tarnished), and the circular cavities of the irises were once filled with colored stone or glass. The image of Bacchus as a handsome, beardless youth was one of the preferred respiration of the god.
Floor Mosaic with a Lion Attacking an Onager
Roman, about A.D 150
Stone and glass
In this mosaic, a lion tears into the back of a fallen onager at the edge of a pool or stream. Brutality was a common feature of Roman spectacles, which included animal battles staged in circuses and amphitheaters. Beasts would fight each other or humans as a form of public entretainment that was immensaly popular throughout the roman empire.
Floding Tripod with Horses
Roman, A.D. 250-300
Bronze
Statuettes of horses at different ages top the legs of this tripod, the three-legged stand. A nursing foal represents infancy, a rearing stallion is shown in the prime of life, and a horse drinking from a kantharos (ritual cup) sybolizes old age. Tripods were used to hold caouldrons in which secrifices were burned and liberations (liquid offerings) were prouded as gifts to the gods. Victorious athletes often dedicated their tripods to deities.
Wine Cup with a Man and a Youth Kissing
Greek, made in Athens, 510-500 B.C
Terracotta
The relationship between an adult male citizen and a freeborn youth was a fundamental part of elite Greek society. Conventionally, it was proper for the older lover (erastes) to be the active partner, but the adolecent beloved (enormenos) reaches up for an embrace, suggesting that the affection could be mutual. In ancient Greece, pederastic relationships encompassed not only phisical intimacy but also education and cultural refinement. In addition to the symposion (male drinking party), where this wine cup would have been used, an important context for male interaction was gymnasium, and the exterior of this vessel is decorated with athletes.
Musaic Floor with a Boxing Scene
Gallo-Roman, from present-day Villelaure, France
About A.D. 157
Stone and glass
This mosaic floor from a villa depicts the scene in Virgil's Aeneid in which the aged Sicilian champion Entellus defeats the young Trojan hero Dares in a boxing match. Blood spurts from Dares' injured head. Entellus sacrificed his prize, a bull bedecked with gold ribbons, by landing a great blow to the animal's head.
Both boxers wear caestus, leather strips weighted with lead that were wrapped around the hands of Roman fighters to increase the impact of their punches. It was not uncommon for such blows to prove fatal.