Dublin Core
Title
Cast no.27
Abstract
Relief fragment with acanthus from the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace).
Rome.
Carrara marble.
13-9 BCE.
Rome, Ara Pacis.
H 31 1/2 in., W 26 in.
Metropolitan Catalogue: Cast no. 1313.
Cast Location: Concert Hall Lobby
Construction of the Ara Pacis Augustae was approved by the Roman Senate to honor the peace and prosperity enjoyed during the Pax Romana (Roman peace) of the Emperor Augustus. The abundance of his reign is represented on the lower panels of the altar's enclosure walls by reliefs of acanthus leaves, tendrils, birds, small animals, lizards, and insects. The upper panels contain figural scenes relating to peace, plenty, good government, and the legendary history of the Roman people. The Ara Pacis was originally erected alongside the Via Flaminia in the Campus Martius (Field of Mars). During the 1930s, Mussolini’s archaeologists excavated and restored the altar, moving it to its present location within a protective building near the Tiber River. A new building for the altar and its enclosure designed by Richard Meier opened in 2006. The workshop that produced this plaster during the 1890s affixed an oval label on the right side of the cast that reads: “M. GHERARDI, Formatore. Grande Assortimento di Modello Per disegno. ROMA 87 via sestina 87.”
~Jennifer Seamster
Rome.
Carrara marble.
13-9 BCE.
Rome, Ara Pacis.
H 31 1/2 in., W 26 in.
Metropolitan Catalogue: Cast no. 1313.
Cast Location: Concert Hall Lobby
Construction of the Ara Pacis Augustae was approved by the Roman Senate to honor the peace and prosperity enjoyed during the Pax Romana (Roman peace) of the Emperor Augustus. The abundance of his reign is represented on the lower panels of the altar's enclosure walls by reliefs of acanthus leaves, tendrils, birds, small animals, lizards, and insects. The upper panels contain figural scenes relating to peace, plenty, good government, and the legendary history of the Roman people. The Ara Pacis was originally erected alongside the Via Flaminia in the Campus Martius (Field of Mars). During the 1930s, Mussolini’s archaeologists excavated and restored the altar, moving it to its present location within a protective building near the Tiber River. A new building for the altar and its enclosure designed by Richard Meier opened in 2006. The workshop that produced this plaster during the 1890s affixed an oval label on the right side of the cast that reads: “M. GHERARDI, Formatore. Grande Assortimento di Modello Per disegno. ROMA 87 via sestina 87.”
~Jennifer Seamster
Bibliographic Citation
Bibliography
See David Castriota, The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Imagery of Abundance in Later Greek and Early Roman Imperial Art (Princeton, 1995); Diane Conlin, The Artists of the Ara Pacis: The Process of Hellenization in Roman Relief Sculpture (Chapel Hill, 1997); Erika Simon, Ara Pacis Augustae (Greenwich, CT, n.d.). Figure. Figure. Label found on the back of no. 27.
See David Castriota, The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Imagery of Abundance in Later Greek and Early Roman Imperial Art (Princeton, 1995); Diane Conlin, The Artists of the Ara Pacis: The Process of Hellenization in Roman Relief Sculpture (Chapel Hill, 1997); Erika Simon, Ara Pacis Augustae (Greenwich, CT, n.d.). Figure. Figure. Label found on the back of no. 27.
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