Fragments in the Museo Nazionale Romano

• 1. Corner Entablature Fragment with Part of a Capital (310254)
• 2. Projecting Corner Entablature Fragment with Part of a Capital (310255)
• 3. Male Torso Draped in a Mantle and Leaning against a Palm Tree (310252)
• 4. Nude Male Torso (310256)
• 5. Relief Fragment with Representation of the Temple of Quirinus (310251)
• 6. Relief Fragment with Head of a Bull (310253)
• 7. Relief Fragment with the Head of a Soldier (310257)
• 8. Relief Fragment with Female Head (310258)
• 9. Relief Fragment with the Profile of a Male Head (310259)

The nine Hartwig fragments in the collection of the Museo Nazionale Romano (MNR) are represented in the exhibition by hand-painted casts made by the Istituto Centrale del Restauro in Rome (the photos are of the originals, not the casts). The six ancient fragments in the Kelsey Museum (KM) collection are displayed in the next gallery. All fifteen ancient fragments are made of Greek marble from Mt. Pentelikon near Athens.

Architectural fragment (MNR 310254)	Architectural fragment (MNR 310255)

This exhibition proposes that the architectural elements (MNR 310254 and 310255; KM 2424 and 2427) belonged to an entablature decorated with griffins that flank ritual objects.

Male torso (MNR 310252)	Male torso (MNR 310256)

Two corner fragments preserve the torsos of male figures (MNR 310252 and 310256) who lean against the trunks of palm trees; their foliage forms palm frond capitals.

 

Fragment with Temple of Quirinus (MNR 310251)	Fragment with head of a bull (MNR 310253)

Two fragments formed part of a scene of sacrificial procession: a well-known fragment with a flamen (priest) in front of the Temple of Quirinus, whose pedimental sculptures depict figures from the legendary origins of Rome (MNR 310251); and the head of a bull adorned for sacrifice (MNR 310253).

 

Head of a soldier (MNR 310257)	Female head (MNR 319258)	Male head (MNR 310259)

Another six fragments are attributed to a scene of the emperor Vespasian's ceremonial arrival at Rome: a portrait of the emperor Vespasian (KM 2430); the head of a helmeted soldier (MNR 310257) that joins with a torso wearing a military breastplate (KM 2431); a small female head, perhaps the personification of Victory (MNR 310258); and a male head, perhaps the Genius Populi Romani, the tutelary spirit of the Roman people (MNR 310259).

Copyright ©1997, 2002 Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan. All rights reserved.