Images

Square-shaped cippi were found inside burial chambers and carried an egg-shaped top, possibly as a symbol of life and fertility. The scenes depicted in bas-reliefs are connected with cult of the dead and burial, as are here the dances are...

The base is surrounded by a frieze of Greeks and Amazons, yet without fighting action. Possibly, this early Etruscan "Amazonomachy" is a game or a parade within the context of the death cult. The Amazons' clothing corresponds with that on...

This antefix depicts the head of Juno; an ancient Roman goddess. Clay. From Latium, Italy. Circa 500-480 BCE. It is on display at the Altes Museum in Berlin, Germany. Acquired from Collection Bellori in 1698 CE.

The upper part of the head is lost. This statue is one of the earliest large-scale sculptures from Vulci. It was created under the influence of Greek-Daedalic sculpture. The hairstyle and jewelry are based on oriental antetypes. From Vulci...

This head belonged to a crouching sphinx with a lion's body and wings. It stood wither on a tumulus or as a "sentinel" at the entrance to the grave. Nenfro (tuff). From Vulci, Italy. Circa 600 BCE. It is on display at the Altes Museum in...

This garland sarcophagus, known in drawings since the 15th century CE, originally stood on the Tiber Island in Rome. In a photograph taken between 1864-1866 CE, it is seen surrounded by ornamental plants in the garden of Palazzo Caffarelli...

The head and torso of this statuette did not originally go together. The head is a portrait of the Roman Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117 CE). Records of the sculpture, first presumed to be a gladiator, can be traced back to the Venetian Andrea...

The body of the statuette apparently, found in a "vineyard near Vesuvius", is almost fully intact. The head, dating from antiquity, does not belong to it and was attached and amended by Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. After 1830 CE, the Hora was displayed...

The statuette of the young wine god with effeminate features bears heavy signs of scorching. It originates from a particularly large and wealthy Prienean house that was destroyed in the disaster around 135 BCE. It perhaps once adorned the...

This smaller than life-size head came from a statue that represented the Greek hero Herakles as a pugilist. Indications for this include the puffy ears that also appear in images of sportsmen. Herakles was their patron deity; the statue may...