The Flickr Museoarcheologiconazionaledinapoli Image Generatr

Marble statue of an enthroned Serapis, found in Pozzuoli - ancient Puteoli - in the ruins of the macellum (markeplace), once mistakenly identified as a serapeum (temple to Serapis) specifically because of this sculpture. It reproduces a cult statue of the Serapeion of Alexandria. The dog is Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of Hades. Serapis is a syncretic god, a fusion of Greek and Egyptian deities, and associated with cthonic deities like Pluto/Hades (hence Cerberus), and abundance (hence the modius grain measure on his head). He is seen here on a throne, supreme ruler of the underworld, and looking very much like Greco-Roman depictions of Zeus-Jupiter, Pluto, or Neptune.

The name for this Greek-looking god was derived from 'Osiris-Apis', two Egyptian gods, becoming the Greek Sarapis.

Roman, end of the 2nd-beginning of the 3rd century CE, from Pozzuoli (found in 1750).

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN inv. 975)

It's been a bit crazy at work lately...

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN)

Roman copy of a famous Greek statue known as the Artemis of Larnaka. The goddess, dressed in a long chiton, leans against a small column with an archaic-style statuette of Artemis.

The head of this statue is supposed to be the original, and judging by the hairstyle and facial features, she's modeled on the empress Livia Drusilla, wife of Augustus. Example of one of the official portraits of Livia from her later life:

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Livia_y_Tiber...

Restored in the 18th century by Joseph Canart.

Roman, 1st century CE, from Baia, Strigari, on a property belonging to Marchione di Meo, near Monte Canino.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (inv. 6121)

Excavated from the sacred pool of Bagno Grande at San Casciano dei Bagni, this bronze bust of a matron was used as a votive offering in the 1st century CE. One of 24 bronzes recently discovered in the ruins of this ancient sanctuary. She’s missing her eyes, which were probably made from stone or bone and glass. Her ears are pierced, meaning she probably wore gold earrings.

Between 2020 and 2022 part of this Etruscan and Roman sanctuary came to light at Bagno Grande. The ancient building encircled a sacred pool - over 4 meters deep - made of travertine blocks. An earlier Etruscan pool, underneath the Roman one, was restructured and enlarged at the time of Emperor Tiberius (1st century CE, the same time period when this bronze went into the water).

Votive offerings were deposited into the water until the late 4th century CE. The earliest statue offerings date to the 3rd century BCE and continued throughout the 2nd and the ist century CE. They were deposited all together at the beginning of the 1st century CE into the earliest pool, at over three meters in depth, underneath a compact layer of terracotta tiles. The only artifacts associated with the tiles are the representation of a thunderbolt in bronze and a prehistoric flint arrowhead. These objects may symbolize a "fulmen conditum", the "burying" of a thunderbolt. According to the "ars fulguratoria" - the Etruscan tradition of reading the lightening - the objects that were hit by a lightening within a sacred place had to be buried. The place of ritual burial - in this case the pool - became a "bidental".

Probably Roman, 1st century CE, late Augustan, Bagno Grande, San Casciano dei Bagni.

Photographed at the Musei Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples)

Rear of a bronze bust of a matron, showing her complex braided hairstyle. Excavated from the sacred pool of Bagno Grande at San Casciano dei Bagni, this bronze bust was used as a votive offering in the 1st century CE. One of 24 bronzes recently discovered in the ruins of this ancient sanctuary. She’s missing her eyes, which were probably made from stone or bone and glass. Her ears are pierced, meaning she probably wore gold earrings.

Between 2020 and 2022 part of this Etruscan and Roman sanctuary came to light at Bagno Grande. The ancient building encircled a sacred pool - over 4 meters deep - made of travertine blocks. An earlier Etruscan pool, underneath the Roman one, was restructured and enlarged at the time of Emperor Tiberius (1st century CE, the same time period when this bronze went into the water).

Votive offerings were deposited into the water until the late 4th century CE. The earliest statue offerings date to the 3rd century BCE and continued throughout the 2nd and the ist century CE.

Probably Roman, 1st century CE, late Augustan, Bagno Grande, San Casciano dei Bagni.

Photographed at the Musei Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples)

Made of alabaster and painted bronze, the sculpture is a nearly life-size Roman copy of the Artemis of Ephesus. She's known as the Farnese Artemis, part of the famed Farnese Collection of ancient sculpture, now housed at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Naples National Archaeological Museum). The original statue in Ephesus was a xoanon, an Archaic Greek cult image made of wood.

The goddess wears a fortified tower on her head (very like the goddess Cybele) and an aureole (halo) decorated with eight griffins. Aound her neck is a garland of cereals fringed with acorns, and above it a crescent-shaped breastplate with female figures in bas-relief (winged Nikai?). Each of the arms of the goddess are lined with three lions which appear to be climbing upwards, and she wears a chiton, visible only along the goddess' arms and feet. Over her chiton, Artemis is depicted wearing an ependytes, a decorated overdress, covered with mythical and other animals. Dresses like this are seen being worn by goddesses on Greek vases from around the 5th century BCE.

The most controversial and visible feature of this Artemis are the rows of pendulous objects hanging from her upper torso. They have traditionally been thought to be stylized breasts (fertility being a part of Artemis' powers), but with the other areas of her flesh being bronze, why not breasts? The MANN (the museum) now believes these to represent bull testicles, from the many bulls sacrificed to the goddess - a potent symbol of fertility. But some scholars think they could be eggs, dates, grapes, and other ovoid objects from the natural world.

Much-restored, with head, hands, and feet restored in bronze by Valadier (1762—1839); restoration in alabaster by Albacicni (1734—1813).

Original portions are second half of the 2nd century CE. Unknown findspot.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Farnese Collection (inv. 6278)

Statue of Eros of the Centocelle type, said to have been found in Pompeii. Restored from known copies where this Eros stands in a frontal pose, with his weight on his left leg. The original sculpture would have had his head tilted slightly to his right, raising a wreath above his head with his right hand, and holding another wreath in his left hand. Obviously, the restorers changed the hands and their positions.

It's suggested that this Eros type may be connected with Praxiteles' 'Pouring Satyr', which is seems to resemble in general appearance as well as pose.

The original Praxiteles statue was said to be a colossal bronze, and situated in the Greek city of Thespiae, where Eros reigned as the chief deity. This was the city's main attraction until its removal by the Romans.

Another Roman sculpture of this Eros was restored correctly, with the two wreaths and is now in the Louvre. It can be seen here, and the resemblance to the 'Pouring Satyr' is clear: collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010276198.

Roman copy of the second half of the 2nd century CE of a Greek original of the 4th century BCE, attributed to Praxiteles. Said to have been found in Pompeii.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Farnese Collection (MANN inv. 6353)

Half-body portrait bust of a middle-aged togatus (a man wearing a toga) on a clipeus, carved in high relief. Found in the forum of ancient Cumae, Italy.

Roman, first half of the 1st century CE. Cumae, Italy.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN inv. 6729)

This free-blown cobalt blue ribbed cup is reminiscent of much larger ribbed glass bowls which in turn descend from silver and bronze cups and bowls created for the Achaemenid Persian court. The blue color is more typical of glass work produced in the western part of the Mediterranean - in the eastern Mediterranean glass workshops, they made mostly pale colored or colorless vessels.

Roman, 1st century CE, from Pompeii.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN, no inv.)

This bright green glass vessel is ambiguously listed at the museum (no tag), but it's either a small free-blown bowl or cup, possibly to hold sauces for dipping during a meal. It shows some iridescence due to age.

Roman, 1st century CE, from Pompeii or the general Vesuvian area.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN)

This heavily restored statue group features the naked (and certainly drunk) Dionysos, god of wine and the much smaller and youthful Eros. Both of Dionysos' arms are modern restorations, as is most of the body of Eros.

I suspect that the smaller figure was originally a satyr, as this is a well-known tableau in sculpture, fresco, mosaic and other media. Further, the right hand of Dionysos may have originally been behind his head in the 'louche' gesture. The restored arm is very awkwardly placed - the traditional gesture would have balanced the statue better visually. See the colossal sculpture group originally from the Baths of Constantine, now in the Palazzo Altemps in Rome.

Roman, 2nd century CE. No known findspot (?).

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Farnese Collection (MANN inv. 6307)

In the recently re-opened Campania Romana Gallery at the Naples Archaeological Museum, several large scale bronze sculptures of the Imperial family from Herculaneum's theater are on display. They were originally positioned at the top of the theater, looking down upon the audience and the stage.

The statue on the right is Tiberius' mother, Livia, wife of the Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BCE - 14 CE), her head veiled and arms raised in prayer to the gods. She is depicted as a mature, middle-aged woman, a proper patrician Roman matrona.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN inv. 5589)

Closeup of the colossal head and torso of Jupiter Capitolinus - one of the Capitoline Triad, with Juno and Minerva - is made of white marble. However, as it was an acrolith, the bulk of the body, save the limbs, would have been made from wood (painted and/or covered in bronze or fabric clothing). The god would have been seated on a throne holding a scepter and a thunderbolt, conforming to the image of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the cult statue of the temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.

Roman, from the Capitolium (temple of the Capitoline Triad) in Cumae, Italy. 1st century CE.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Remains of three colossal acrolithic statues of the Capitoline Triad: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. They were worshipped at the main temple of Cumae, based on the model established on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, with a triple cella, one for each god.

The statue of Jupiter would have been seated on a throne holding a scepter and a thunderbolt, conforming to that of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the cult statue of the temple on the Capoline Hill. The head of Minerva wore a tight-fitting helmet from which her hair emerged underneath, as seen here (without the long-lost bronze helmet - possibly mixed with other metals like gold, silver, or copper). The iconography of this Minerva draws on the statue of Athena made by the Athenian sculptor Eubulides (2nd century BCE).

As these were acroliths, only the head and the limbs were made of marble; the remaining parts of the body were made of painted wood, or were covered in clothing.

Cumae, Capitolium, 1st century CE.

Museo Archaeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Detail of a large Hellenistic fresco depicting an architectural structure with doors and masks. This tragic theater mask is sitting on a ledge supported by tiny caryatids that seem to portay mythical figures. In all of the frescoes from this villa, there is a liberal use of cinnabar in the background, as seen here in the red areas.

Roman, from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale, Room G. About 60 BCE.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (no inv. number 1)

This larger than life statue, possibly discovered in the Baths of Caracalla, has been identified as the goddess Pomona, Roman goddess of fruits, gardens, and orchards. Renaissance restorers added the missing right hand and have her holding flowers (the other flowers in her himation are ancient). She has been made to look more like the goddess Flora, given the flowers in both her himation and her crown (the head may or may not be original to this statue), and is sometimes known as Flor Minor. It's almost certain that this statue was originally associated with Flora, who represented spring; Pomona represented autumn.

Roman, second half of the 2nd century CE.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN inv. 5978)

The so-called Flora Farnese is a colossal statue belonging to the Farnese Collection, now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. It is a classicistic creation of the Roman era that refers to Greek prototypes of the 5th century. BCE, but which dates back to the 2nd century CE given the belt knotted at the hips which was a Roman fashion of that time. The rendering of the harmonious body and sinuous movements covered by a thin, almost transparent dress that adheres to it as if it were wet is extraordinary. The original statue represented Aphrodite, but the head and left arm were integrated in the 19th century, interpreting it as Flora. Traditionally it is said that the statue was found in Rome in the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, which is not possible since there is a drawing by M. van Heemskerck (active in Rome between 1532 and 1536) which portrays it not yet restored, while the excavations at the Baths of Caracalla only began in 1545.

Roman, 1st century CE.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN inv. 6409)

Mosaic emblema in opus vermiculatum depicting doves perched to drink water on the rim of a gold or polished bronze basin placed on a marble podium. Doves were symbols of gentleness and beauty, and are one of the birds associated with Venus (Aphrodite), the goddess of love. Her son Cupid (Eros) has the wings of a dove. The scene is framed by a garland of fruit, ribbons, masks and berries. The theme is taken from a Hellenistic original by Sosus of Pergamon which was admired by Pliny, who wrote in his seminal work, Naturalis Historia (Natural History):

'Pavements are an invention of the Greeks, who also practiced the art of painting them, till they were superseded by mosaics. In this last branch of art the highest excellence has been attained by Sosus who laid at Pergamus the pavement known as the “Asarotos œcos”; from the fact that he there represented in small squares of different colors the remnants of a banquet lying upon the pavement and other things which are usually swept away with the broom, they having all the appearance of being left there by accident. There is a dove also, greatly admired, in the act of drinking and throwing the shadow of its head upon the water; while other birds are to be seen sunning and pluming themselves on the margin of a drinking bowl.'

The most famous version of this mosaic was discovered in 1737 at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, which is believed to be a lost copy of Sosus' lost original from Pergamon (although some experts believe it's the original, transported to Hadrian's palace). Sometimes referenced as the Capitoline Doves, or the Doves of Pliny, it can be seen today in the Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums) in Rome, linked in the comments below.

Excavated in March of 1885 from room 'n' of the house, an oecus or triclinium (dining room).

First quarter of the 1st century BCE. Casa delle Colombe a Mosaico or House of the Mosaic Doves (VIII.2.34, excavated 1767, 1885 and 1928), Pompeii.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Napoli (inv. 114281)

The thing most people first notice about the Farnese Hercules is its sheer size: it stands at 3.15 meters, almost ten-and-a-half feet. This fine example of Roman sculpture shows the Greek hero – he is sometimes known by his Greek name, as the Farnese Herakles – leaning on his customary wooden club, here cushioned by the Nemean lion skin. His downcast eyes, together with his pose, suggest that Hercules has been exhausted by his Labors – and it is on account of this that the sculpture has gained another name, the Weary Hercules.

There's a surprise in store when we look behind the back of the statue: he's holding two golden apples in his right hand. Hercules has evidently just accomplished his assigned Labor to steal the apples of the Hesperides, in this case by holding up the skies in place of the god Atlas. Still, despite his size, the emphasis on his tiredness after the hard work of hefting up the heavens indicates that the Farnese Hercules is a very human and relatable hero.

On the rock, under the club, an inscription records the sculptor's name:

ΓΛΥΚΩΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΙ

Translation: Glycon athenaios epoiei/Glycon the Athenian made [this].

This particular marble statue was found - without its head and legs - in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome in 1546, in a passageway between the frigidarium and the north/west gymnasium. According to a letter of Guglielmo della Porta, the head had been recovered separately, from a well in Trastevere many years later, in 1563, and reattached to the body. Della Porta, a student of Michelangelo, was retained to sculpt new legs for the sculpture. When the legs were found years later, Michelangelo asked for della Porta's versions to be retained, to demonstrate that modern sculptors were every bit as talented as their Roman forebears. The legs weren't reintegrated into the sculpture until 1746.

The statue is a Roman copy of a bronze original attributed to the Greek sculptor Lysippos, who lived in the 4th century BCE. The sheer number of other replicas - from the large to the small (see the comments below) - of the Farnese Hercules suggest it was almost as famous in antiquity as it has been in Western art since its rediscovery in the 16th century and its display in the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.

Roman copy of a Greek work, ca. 2nd-3rd century CE.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Farnese Collection (MANN inv. 6001)

In an homage to Hendrick Goltzius' spectacular engraving of the Farnese Hercules, shown from his back side, here we see both the 'surprise' - the apples of the Hesperides in his hand - and Herc's massive glutes. Many, many people were taking in the view from this side rather than the front side when I was at the Farnese Collection in the MANN.

The Farnese Hercules is massive: it stands at 3.15 meters, almost ten-and-a-half feet. This fine example of Roman sculpture shows the Greek hero – he is sometimes known by his Greek name, as the Farnese Herakles – leaning on his customary wooden club, here cushioned by the Nemean lion skin. His downcast eyes, together with his pose, suggest that Hercules has been exhausted by his Labors – and it is on account of this that the sculpture has gained another name, the Weary Hercules.

There's a surprise in store when we look behind the back of the statue: he's holding two golden apples in his right hand. Hercules has evidently just accomplished his assigned Labor to steal the apples from the Garden of the Hesperides, in this case by holding up the skies in place of the god Atlas. Still, despite his size, the emphasis on his tiredness after the hard work of hefting up the heavens indicates that the Farnese Hercules is a very human and relatable hero.

On the rock, under the club, an inscription records the sculptor's name:

ΓΛΥΚΩΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΙ

Translation: Glycon athenaios epoiei/Glycon the Athenian made [this].

This particular marble statue was found - without its head and legs - in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome in 1546, in a passageway between the frigidarium and the north/west gymnasium. According to a letter of Guglielmo della Porta, the head had been recovered separately, from a well in Trastevere many years later, in 1563, and reattached to the body. Della Porta, a student of Michelangelo, was retained to sculpt new legs for the sculpture. When the legs were found years later, Michelangelo asked for della Porta's versions to be retained, to demonstrate that modern sculptors were every bit as talented as their Roman forebears. The legs weren't reintegrated into the sculpture until 1746.

The statue is a Roman copy of a bronze original attributed to the Greek sculptor Lysippos, who lived in the 4th century BCE. The sheer number of other replicas - from the large to the small (see the comments below) - of the Farnese Hercules suggest it was almost as famous in antiquity as it has been in Western art since its rediscovery in the 16th century and its display in the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.

Roman copy of a Greek work, ca. 2nd-3rd century CE.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Farnese Collection (MANN inv. 6001)