CORBEL FROM THE ISÆUM CAMPENSIS, 81-84 CE. CLOISTER OF S. MARIA SOPRA MINERVA The huge complex dedicated to Isis and Serapis in the Campus Martius has left many traces of its existence, from the "talking statue" called Madonna Lucrezia outside palazzo Venezia to the marble foot that gave its name to via Piè di Marmo and even perhaps the huge bronze Pigna or pinecone now in the Vatican Museums, along with many statues and columns in the Capitoline Museums. After a fire destroyed much of the Campus Martius in 80 CE, Domitian lavishly rebuilt the complex, and we can see here the Flavian baroque of his constructions. On either side of this scrolled corbel are lovely acanthus leaves, but the main element is a figure of a young boy in a chlamys. Both his arms are missing but one is raised up so he can put a finger to his lips: shhh. This is the syncretic god Harpocrates, son of Isis and Serapis, a god of silence and secrets.

For #ReliefWednesday we have a lushly-decorated corbel from the #IsæumCampensis, probably from #Domitian's rebuilding after the devastating #fire of 80 CE that ravaged the Campus Martius. This is a little #Harpocrates, son of #Isis and #Serapis, god of secrets. #AncientBluesky 🏺

On #ReliefWednesday, here’s two C1st AD legionaries advancing towards to the enemy, shield thrust out and gladius at the ready.

My photo shows a wall carving in low relief of a hedgehog emerging from its burrow or shelter. Detail from a wall relief of a hunting scene in the Tomb of Mereruka, Vizier of King Teti, Sixth Dynasty, c. 2330 BC. The hedgehog is depicted in profile facing right with the front portion of its body emerging from the somewhat triangular-shaped burrow or shelter, perhaps a mound of soil. Its body is rounded, with two short forelegs. It has a narrow face with a pointed muzzle, an almond-shaped eye, and a pointed ear. A horizontal line across the middle of its body shows the delineation between its soft underbelly and its spiny back (spines not depicted) On either side of the hedgehog and its burrow there is a low mound topped by vertical wavy lines representing desert grass. Ground level is represented by a horizontal line. In ancient Egyptian art, hedgehogs were sometimes associated with protection and regeneration, likely because of their defensive spines and habit of curling up, as well as being nocturnal animals with the ability to see in the dark (perfect for the underworld). They were also hunted for food. This little hedgehog in Mereruka’s tomb may carry two meanings at once. A hunted food offering to provide nourishment and also magical protection for his rebirth.

Some 4,300 years ago, an Egyptian artisan carved this little hedgehog emerging from its burrow! 🦔❤️

Lovely naturalistic detail from a limestone wall relief in the Tomb of Mereruka at Saqqara. Old Kingdom, Sixth Dynasty, c. 2330 BC.

📷 by me

#ReliefWednesday
#Archaeology

Stone relief of a gladiator, standing within a rectangular niche. He’s holding a shield, a sword and is wearing a helmet. A inscription in Greek letters (reading Peneleos) is carved along the top edge of the stone.

A Roman gladiator frozen in his final fight: this funerary relief shows Peneleos, a heavily armed murmillo, who won eleven fights in the arena - and seems to have died in his twelfth.

Dating 3rd century AD and found in Türkiye.
From the collection of Antikensammlung Basel.

📷 me

🏺 #reliefwednesday

Not strictly fitting the criteria for #reliefwednesday, but so stunning that who cares, right?

#Ptolemaic #Egyptian canopic jars depicting the four sons of #Horus. From l-r, they are Duamutef. Hapy, Imsety and Qebehsenuef.

Part of a wooden panel from a trunk, with detailed relief carving of a lively scene from the Pardoner's Tale in the Canterbury Tales. From the left, a man stands before a house, which is shown at about the same height, holding two jugs. From an open window in the house, another man is touching one of the jugs - he has just handed it over. Three male figures are shown behind the house (and larger than it) leaping forward, with cloaks flying behind. One carries a dagger (which would be used to stab the central figure). The background to the scene shows giant flower heads, leaves and bumpy terrain.

#ReliefWednesday
Gory panel from c.1410 #Woodensday trunk w scene from Canterbury Tales.
Pardoner's Tale: 3 greedy guys find treasure, have a row, 2 of them stab the other but, alas, drink wine the victim had cunningly prepared earlier.
Moral: greed is bad.
Will it appear in new London Museum 2026?

Relieve de mármol con gladiadoras, procedente de Halicarnaso (actual Bodrum, Turquía ), siglos I-II d.C. Museo Británico, Londres.

#ReliefWednesday
Historiadores afirman que gladiadoras de la antigua Roma.
Mujeres que participaban en combates VIP para emperadores y altos funcionarios en la antigua Roma, luchaban 'con los pechos al descubierto'
#History #Roma
#Archaeology
#RomanArchaeology
#AncientBluesky

Wednesday #
#WednesdayGreen
#AquilineWednesday
#BookshopWednesday
#EgyptologyWednesday
#GothicWednesday
#HillfortsWednesday
#HollowayWednesday
#WaterTowerWednesday
#LegendaryWednesday
#ReliefWednesday
#RoseWednesday
#WallsOnWednesday

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Wednesday

#HillfortsWednesday
#NormanWednesday

#EgyptologyWednesday

#ReliefWednesday

#GothicWednesday

#WellsOnWednesday

#WallsOnWednesday

#BrickworkWednesday

#WindowsWednesday
#WindowsOnWednesday

#Woodensday

1 of 8 #WednesdayHashtags

#ReliefWednesday - Carved relief from a water tank depicting Venus bathing in a stream with two attendant nymphs. Dated to the 3rd century AD, found at High Rochester Fort.

Great North Museum, Newcastle.

does this qualify for #ReliefWednesday ?

Mystrious beast from San Lorenzo, Milan

For #ReliefWednesday, the stunning funerary relief of a Syrian woman, Palmyra, 231 AD.

The inscription, in Aramaic, gives the date of her death as 231 AD and her name - Haliphat.

Funerary relief bust, Freer Gallery of Art
asia-archive.si.edu/object/F1908...

A figure of man with cloak over his left shoulder and a bag of seed in his right hand. He stands between two green marble Corinthian columns supporting an arch. To left of arch on green marble background is round disc with Gemini twins, to the right is Taurus. Below his feet is inscribed APRILIS.

#ReliefWednesday
Between Taurus and Gemini is April's labour of the month - it's time for sowing seed and planting in Tuscany, it seems, 800 or so years ago. Suspect farming calendars have moved on since then.
From the 13th C bas reliefs on west portico of Cattedrale di San Martino in lovely Lucca.

RELIEF ON THE CUIRASS OF THE AUGUSTUS OF PRIMA PORTA, 14-29 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS This famous statue was found in the villa of Livia at Prima Porta north of Rome on 1863. It probably dates from between Augustus' death and deification in 14 CE and Livia's death in 29. The reliefs on the emperor's lorica musculata or "muscled breastplate" show a Parthian king returning the standards lost by Crassus in 53 B.C. at the battle of Carrhae to a Roman officer, probably Tiberius. At both sides are figures representing two provinces of the empire. The whole scene is inserted into a cosmic landscape. At the top we can see the personification of the heavens in the centre, with the chariots of Helios and Aurora alongside. Just below the nipples we see Apollo on a griffin and Diana on the back of a hind and, at bottom centre, just below the navel of the cuirass, is the goddess Tellus, the Earth.

For #ReliefWednesday, the #cuirass of the #Augustus of #PrimaPorta, now in the #VaticanMuseums. On the emperor's chest is a scene in the heavens, while the central relief on his abdomen shows a #Parthian king returning #Roman standards lost by #Crassus at #Carrhae in 53 BCE. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Let me introduce you to Hagar, an elite woman from C2nd AD Palmyra. She is shown in this funerary monument in wonderfully-executed high relief.

I also like the way that the set up of the lights and the glass cabinet threw rainbows across her face!

🏛️Australian War Memorial
📷me
#ReliefWednesday

Image description: Hercules on the left faces off against the hydra on the right. In the background, a figure seems to emerge from rock. The relief is dated to end of 3rd century CE and comes from the Roman Villa of Chiragan. This artefact is held by the Musée des Antiques de Toulouse.

✨It’s a god; it’s a man; it’s HERCULES!✨

Hercules’ second labour is a fitting match for #ReliefWednesday (that old hump day). Here he squares off against the Lernean Hydra.

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Wednesday

#HillfortsWednesday
#NormanWednesday

#EgyptologyWednesday

#ReliefWednesday

#GothicWednesday

#WellsOnWednesday

#WallsOnWednesday

#BrickworkWednesday

#WindowsWednesday
#WindowsOnWednesday

#Woodensday

1 of 8 #WednesdayHashtags

Relief from Roman Cirencester (Corinium) depicting three Genii Cucullati and a seated mother goddess. The relief was found at the site of the Police Station in Cirencester, and is now part of the collections at The Corinium Museum. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanBritain

IVORY KNIFE HANDLE, C2-C3 CE. MUSEO NAZIONALE DEL BARGELLO The popular passion for gladiators in the ancient Roman world crossed the boundaries of class. This ivory knife handle, a luxury item, shows a secutor, a gladiator armed with a shield which we see covering most of the body, here decorated with four quadrants each containing a four-petaled flower. He also had a leg greave and an arm protector for his sword arm. The most notable aspect of his armour was a distinctive helmet with many little eyeholes, which was rounded so as not to catch the net of the secutor's standard opponent, the retiarius, armed with a net and trident. This helmet, on the contrary, has a little finial at the top, for decorative purposes. It's a beautiful little object.

For a belated #ReliefWednesday, an ivory knife handle from the #Bargello in #Florence, dating to the C2 or C3 CE. The tiny figure is that of a #secutor or "pursuer", one of the specific roles of a #gladiator. Its survival is well-nigh miraculous. #AncientBluesky 🏺

This is the Ludovisi sarcophagus (mid-3rd AD). It absolutely writhes, hums and bursts with energy and movement. It reminds me of Tacitus’ famous phrase about the Romans: “they create a wasteland & call it peace.”

🏛️National Museum, Rome
📷mine
#ReliefWednesday

📸 Arunansh B. Goswami.

#ReliefWednesday

Depiction of Emperor Theodosius I on the pedestal of the obelisk of Theodosius I in #Istanbul. #Art #History

#ReliefWednesday - Relief depicting the personification of the city of Salona, carved into Porta Caesarea in the 4th century AD. The letters MIVSF inscribed on the flag are the initials of the official name of Salona, Martia Iulia Valeria Salona Felix.

Split Archaeological Museum, Croatia.

#ancientbluesky #reliefwednesday #Roman

Funerary relief of two freedmen and a freedwoman, late 1st Century BC

"L(ucius) Gallonius L(uci) l(ibertus) Ascanio / L(ucius) Gallonius
L(uci) l(ibertus) Philodamus / Gallonia L(uci) l(iberta) Laais"

For #ReliefWednesday, 3rd Century AD epitaph, #Italy

"D(is) M(anibus). Valentino filio, qui vixit an(nis) V,
me(n)s(ibus) V, Aur(elius) Achilles m(iles) c(o)ho(rtis) VIII p(raetoriae) ((centurio)) pater fecit dulcissimo b(ene) m(erenti) fecit.

Text in the museum's description: Seated Narcissus is reflected in the water beside a cupid with a torch Villa del Petraro, frigidarium 17 Stucco, c. AD 79 61002 Narciso seduto si specchia nell'acqua, accanto un amorino con fiaccola Villa del Petraro, frigidarium 17 Stucco, 79 d.C. ca.

Narcissus and Cupid, from Villa del Petraro, frigidarium 17
Stucco, c. AD 79
On display at Museo archeologico di Stabiae.
#ReliefWednesday

📸 me

Tienda de vinos, un mostrador equipado con embudos y jarras de diferentes tamaños cuelgan sobre el mostrador. El comerciante vierte vino en uno de ellos, el cliente sostiene una jarra bajo el embudo. Siglo III d. C. 📷 lupa.at/25058

#ReliefWednesday
Tienda de vinos, un mostrador equipado con embudos y jarras de diferentes tamaños cuelgan sobre el mostrador.
El comerciante vierte vino en uno de ellos, el cliente sostiene una jarra bajo el embudo.
Siglo III d. C.
#History #Roma
#RomanArchaeology
#AncientBluesky

1/ Suggested hashtags to join on a Wednesday

#HillfortsWednesday
#NormanWednesday

#EgyptologyWednesday

#ReliefWednesday

#GothicWednesday

#WellsOnWednesday

#WallsOnWednesday

#BrickworkWednesday

#WindowsWednesday
#WindowsOnWednesday

#Woodensday

1 of 7 #WednesdayHashtags

Wednesday #
#WednesdayGreen
#AquilineWednesday
#BookshopWednesday
#EgyptologyWednesday
#GothicWednesday
#HillfortsWednesday
#HollowayWednesday
#WaterTowerWednesday
#LegendaryWednesday
#ReliefWednesday
#RoseWednesday
#WallsOnWednesday

Description from the Kunsthistorisches Museum: “The most important ancient cameo now housed in the Vienna Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Gemma Augustea, served to glorify the deeds of Emperor Augustus and his successor Tiberius. Carved from two layers of Arabic sardonyx, it is a masterpiece of the imperial gem-making workshop in Rome. In the upper frieze, Augustus is enthroned in the attire and pose of Jupiter, holding a scepter and augur's staff. To the emperor's right sits Roma, the patroness of the city. Between the heads of the two figures is the Capricorn, the celestial body of Augustus, and at his feet is an eagle. On the right are allegorical figures: Oikoumene, the inhabited earth; Oceanus, the personification of the sea; and Italia with a cornucopia and two boys. Next to Roma, Augustus's great-nephew Germanicus stands in officer's attire. On the left, Tiberius, the emperor's crown prince and stepson, dismounts from a two-horse chariot driven by Victoria. In the lower part of the image, gods (?) are erecting a trophy (victory monument) and leading in captured barbarians. The depiction perhaps refers to the suppression of the Dalmatian Revolt: On January 16, 10 AD, Tiberius, commander-in-chief of the Roman troops, entered Rome; as victor, he appeared before the emperor. The cameo is first mentioned in 1246 in an inventory of the Saint Sernin monastery in Toulouse. At the beginning of the 17th century, it came into Habsburg possession through purchase by Emperor Rudolf II.”

✨Augustus and Tiberius - the Gemma Augustea✨

One of the most impressive artefacts from the Julio-Claudian period, the Gemma Augustea is our pick this #ReliefWednesday.

Gravestone fragment showing three Roman legionnaires. The fragment was found at Croy Hill on the Antonine Wall, and is now part of the collections at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanScotland #NMS