Ceremonial Front
original west front
Numa / Aeneas
This is one of the most complete of the figurative relief panels. Yet the scene and figures represented continue to be debated. This relief had long been identified as Aeneas sacrificing to the Penates, and some scholars continue to support this reading. But an increasing number of scholars recognize that there are problems with this identification. Most serious is the fact that the Roman public would surely have been expected to recognize the main figure, but there are no other known images of Aeneas middle age with beard and head covered. Increasingly, scholars interpret this image as Numa sealing a peace treaty. Numa Pompilius was elected by the Roman Senate as the second king of Rome, following Romulus.
The purpose of this web site is not to engage in these interpretations but to provide visual documentation which may contribute to their reconsideration. For these questions, not only the main figures but also rare surviving details such as the small shrine at upper-left and subtly carved hand holding a staff at upper-right provide essential evidence.
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Raking light, emphasizing some forms, obscuring others. In the center, foreground, the remains of an altar of rough stones, drapped with a garland of leaves. photo Oct. 2008
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Flat, diffused light. A finely detailed relief, relatively complete, with some details and surfaces unusually well preserved. photo July 2008
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Demonstration of an innovative, technically complex color projection to suggest the original colors of the relief. The figure at right holding a staff has been hypothetically completed. photo May 2010
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The 2 slabs of the Aeneas relief before their 1937-38 reconstruction on the Ara Pacis. Scanned from Jocelyn M.C. Toynebee, The Ara Pacis Reconsidered and Historical Art in Roman Italy, Proceedings of the British Academy (London: Geoffrey Cumberledge, 1953, pl. 15. © The British Academy 1953. Reproduced by permission from Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. 39. Reproduced with appreciation.
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The Aeneas relief as reconstructed by Moretti in 1937-38. Scanned from Giuseppe Moretti, L'Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dell Stato S.p.A., 2005, 2 vols. (1st ed. La Libreria dello Stato, 1948), detail of pl. 1, inscribed "Leporini / ROMA".
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In the background, a small temple raised on a hill and two figures seated within. In front, two attendants with laurel wreaths. The taller attendant holds a fluted tray in his left hand, filled with fruits and cakes. photo Oct. 2008
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Two young attendants in short tunics, with laural wreaths. The taller one, a fringed mantle over his left shoulder, holds a fluted tray in his left hand, filled with fruits and cakes, a pitcher in his right hand. photo July 2008
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Sacrificial pig, possibly not the Lavinian sow, which is elsewhere represented with her piglets. photo Oct. 2008
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Within the shrine, two seated male figures, presumably divinities, one bearded, the other head destroyed, holding vertical staffs; a garland of leaves drapped in front of the shrine's entrance and two wicker-like gates. photo July-Oct. 2008
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Demonstration of an innovative, technically complex color projection to suggest the original colors of the front facades. The projection does not illuminate the broken edge of the left-hand slab. photo May 2010
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Demonstration of an innovative, technically complex color projection to suggest the original colors of the front facades. The figure at right holding a staff has been hypothetically completed. photo May 2010
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At the right, a tall figure, his right hand, slightly knotted staff, and portions of his cloak are well preserved. photo July-Oct. 2008
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Numa/Aeneas, a regal figure, wearing a toga, bare-chested. photo July 2008
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The head sculpted about 3/4 round. photo July 2008
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Demonstration of an innovative, technically complex color projection to suggest the original colors of the relief. The figure at right holding a staff has been hypothetically completed. photo May 2010 |