Joe Geranio
10-04-2008, 07:11 PM
Shield portrait of Roman Emperor Augustus.
Sheet silver worked in repoussé to form the high relief portrait , engraved, partly gilded.
About 15-30 A.D.
Weight: 220 grams.
The Toledo Museum of Art- USA.
The Romans called this type of portrait ina round frame a shield (imago clipeata).
It represents the first emperor, Caesar Augustus (born 63 B.C.).
The heir of Julias Caesar was only 18 years old when Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.. Thanks to polical savvy. charisma, and luck, Augustus brought an end to cival war, and peace to people around the Mediterranean Sea.
The acanthus leaves under the bust mean he is deceased.
Augustus died in 14 A.D.and was promply defied by the Senate.
Augustus wears a laurel wreath and armor. On the background three dogs hunt a lion and a boar. These symbols of war and hunting represent Augustus' s militairy might.
The animals are drawn with stippled, curving lines not common in classical Greek or Roman art but typical of art made along the northeastern frontier of the Empire.
This suggests that this costly portrait was made as a diplomatic gift for a local ruler, to remind him of the power and majesty of Rome. Photo by Hans
For more on Julio Claudian iconography and portrait study see:
Geranio, Joe - Portraits of Caligula: The Seated Figure? Vol. XX, No. 1 (1997) Society for Ancient Numismatics
Geranio, Joe - Portraits of Caligula: The Seated Figure? Vol. 21, No. 9 . (2007) The Celator
Sheet silver worked in repoussé to form the high relief portrait , engraved, partly gilded.
About 15-30 A.D.
Weight: 220 grams.
The Toledo Museum of Art- USA.
The Romans called this type of portrait ina round frame a shield (imago clipeata).
It represents the first emperor, Caesar Augustus (born 63 B.C.).
The heir of Julias Caesar was only 18 years old when Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.. Thanks to polical savvy. charisma, and luck, Augustus brought an end to cival war, and peace to people around the Mediterranean Sea.
The acanthus leaves under the bust mean he is deceased.
Augustus died in 14 A.D.and was promply defied by the Senate.
Augustus wears a laurel wreath and armor. On the background three dogs hunt a lion and a boar. These symbols of war and hunting represent Augustus' s militairy might.
The animals are drawn with stippled, curving lines not common in classical Greek or Roman art but typical of art made along the northeastern frontier of the Empire.
This suggests that this costly portrait was made as a diplomatic gift for a local ruler, to remind him of the power and majesty of Rome. Photo by Hans
For more on Julio Claudian iconography and portrait study see:
Geranio, Joe - Portraits of Caligula: The Seated Figure? Vol. XX, No. 1 (1997) Society for Ancient Numismatics
Geranio, Joe - Portraits of Caligula: The Seated Figure? Vol. 21, No. 9 . (2007) The Celator