STONE VASE WITH GUILLOCHE, C. 130 CE. HADRIAN'S VILLA, MUSEION
This vase once decorated the Greek Theatre in Hadrian's Villa. Its "handles" are worn and broken, but may have been rams' heads. The "lid" (sculpted as part of the vase, so never openable) has a decoration of papyrus leaves, and the upper part of the vase has shallow curved fluting around it. The most notable element is the wide single band of guilloche, a series of overlapping circles with a braided edge. The guilloche was almost an obsession for Roman decorative arts and is found in every medium: sculpture, mosaic, and fresco. Though we see it here at its least complex, it can be doubled or tripled, it can separate and rejoin, and it can both link and divide different frames. The first guilloches can be found in a somewhat different form in Mycenæan art but recurs throughout ancient Greek and Roman art and all through the Middle Ages. It has accompanied us throughout history: it is the faithful hound of Western art. I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate it.
For #ReliefWednesday, a vase from #VillaAdriana gives me the opportunity to appreciate the #guilloche, an impeccably classical decoration, infinitely adaptable, loved by #Greeks and #Romans alike, yet not alien to #Celtic and #medieval art. Ladies and gentlemen, to the guilloche. #AncientBluesky 🏺