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Fragment of the end of a small Roman frieze and architrave
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Fragment of the end of a small Roman frieze and architrave
14-50 AD
Earlier first century AD, probably Tiberian or Claudian date
Earlier first century AD, probably Tiberian or Claudian date
Italian marble of good quality
Height: 19cm
Width: 33cm
Thickness: 6cm
Width: 33cm
Thickness: 6cm
Museum number: M1223
Vermeule catalogue number: Vermeule 104
Not on display
Curatorial note
A fragment of a small frieze and architrave with mouldings and enrichment returned on the left for a short section. There is a swag of acorns in triplets, double taniae ends at the sides. thyrsos and, above, a cymbal in the centre. Of the architrave, from top and bottom, there remain a fillet cyma reversa with waterleaf and two fasciae.
The style of moulding indicates an earlier first century AD, probably Tiberian or Claudian, date (14-50 AD) for this section of rather rare architectural enrichment. The decorative carving is treated simply and there is no horror vacuae - a desire to crowd an undecorated surface - such as manifests itself in architectural decoration earlier than in most other Roman imperial arts. The enriched fronts of earlier first century cinerary urns when compared with the Flavian examples in the collection illustrate this trend1.
1 Compare with Soane Museum catalogue numbers Vermeule 325 (M410) and Vermeule 339 (M424).
The style of moulding indicates an earlier first century AD, probably Tiberian or Claudian, date (14-50 AD) for this section of rather rare architectural enrichment. The decorative carving is treated simply and there is no horror vacuae - a desire to crowd an undecorated surface - such as manifests itself in architectural decoration earlier than in most other Roman imperial arts. The enriched fronts of earlier first century cinerary urns when compared with the Flavian examples in the collection illustrate this trend1.
1 Compare with Soane Museum catalogue numbers Vermeule 325 (M410) and Vermeule 339 (M424).
Provenance
Rome; collected by Charles Heathcote Tatham for the architect Henry Holland during the 1790s. See Cornelius Vermeule, unpublished catalogue of the Antiquities at Sir John Soane's Museum, Introduction, transcription of Tatham letters, List 3, no. 28.
Literature
Tatham: Drawings, 8.
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