FRIEZE FROM THE BASILICA OF NEPTUNE, 125-127 CE. PISA, OPERA DELLA PRIMAZIALE This piece of Proconnesian marble comes from behind the Pantheon, from a large hall of Hadrianic date known as the Basilica of Neptune due to this frieze of dolphins, shells, palmettes, and tridents. At an unknown point three large pieces of the frieze were brought from Rome to Pisa, to create a balustrade around the cathedral's presbytery. This was a free-standing balustrade which had the ancient frieze facing outward: the dolphin and trident were metaphorically associated with the Crucifixion. The lower part of the photo shows the interior side. Here, around 1115 CE, a series of rose-like motifs, each different, was carved by Pisan masons and inlaid in black and red stone. The worn aspect of the ancient carving suggests that it was outside for many centuries before finding a new life in Pisa.
For #SpoliaSunday we're at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo of #Pisa, where the majority of the dolphin frieze from the Basilica of #Neptune in #Rome can be found, having served as an enclosure for the #presbytery of Pisa #Cathedral for many centuries.
