Funerary relief of Apelles from Herakleia ~ c. 110 BCE

Apelles holds a scroll(?) in his left hand and also rests his left foot on a cylinder, while resting his right hand on a herm with a youthful head.

Inscription reads: Ἀπελλῆ Θεμίσωνος / Ἡρακλεῖε χρηστὲ / χαῖρε (this is for ancient Greek fans, I can’t translate Greek!)

🏛 Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv. I 753

Interested in this artefact? There are more details here: https://www.khm.at/en/object/51788/

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This C2nd CE Roman relief is part of a celebration of Hadrian’s twentieth year as emperor. A bull is about to be sacrificed. The detail in the relief work is spectacular!

🏛 Uffizi Gallery
📸 Yair Haklai

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Sarcophagus with a frieze depicting the labours of Hercules. This piece is thought to have been made in Asia Minor in c. 160 CE before its transfer to Rome. Today it can be found in the Galleria Borghese.

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This is part of a triumphal monument by Boccus I, King of Mauritania.

The style leverages Roman symbols but is visually distinct. It is thought to celebrate the victory shared with Sulla in the the Jugurthine War.

🏛 Centrale Montemartini
📸 My own

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The ‘contemplative’ Athena ~ c. 460 BCE

This piece is on my mind after coming across it quite unexpectedly in the Baths of Diocletian. It was a feeling of awe to see this beauty with my own eyes.

🏛 Acropolis Museum (usually, but clearly currently on loan!)

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The so-called ‘Tellus’ relief from the Ara Pacis is my all time favourite relief. The details are mesmerising with so much layered symbolism built in from the infant twins to the vegetation.

The Augustan style often calls for abundance to be on full show and this relief captures that idea in spades.

A skilful and jaw-dropping relief not to be missed!

🏛 Ara Pacis Museo

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Roman stucco relief panel ~ C1st CE

Stucco work like this reveals the artist’s confident strokes that bring the work together. Here Eros holds a cornucopia; his wings have been created with precise and clear gestural marks.

🏛 The Met

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245835

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Funerary relief of Hadirat Katthina, daughter of Sha'ad ~ 200–220 CE

The funerary portrait of Hadirat Katthina is an example of high relief from Palmyra. She shows a sense of dignity from her gaze to her formal pose with her arms crossing her body and concealed for the most part beneath her garment.

The inscription is in Palmyrene Aramaic: “hdrt kṭtyn’ bt š‘d ḥbl.” "Hadirat Katthina (?) daughter of Sha‘ad, alas!". Translation by Professor Jean-Baptiste Yon, University of Lyon.

Getty Museum, no. 2019.12

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Thought to date from the C1st CE, this depiction of a laurel tree has a serpent at the base of its trunk and birds flying amongst the foliage.
The scrollwork border seems to include ivy leaves and berries.
🏛 Museo Nacional de Arte Romano
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/relief-with-tree-unknown/qgE5F4gx0YcgHg
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