Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #polychromy
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The emperor is dead *and* immortal! And a blonde. My newest digital restoration is Augustus as Jupiter, the king of the gods. A melding of Roman realism with Greek Classicism. A lot to unpack here … #polychromy #archaeology #art 1/ 
The statue was unearthed in Cumae, a wealthy Roman city near Naples, once a Greek colony and home to the prophesying sybil. The restorers were able to use ancient coins and cameos depicting the Olympian #Zeus and Augustus as Jupiter to guide their reconstruction work ... 2/
Coins like the one below, depicting Augustus as Jupiter Terminus, holding a winged thunderbolt and Victoria. The goddess is also shows up on the reverse of the coin that Augustus minted after the battle of Actium: Victoria on a globe, holding a wreath. 3/
My new digital restoration is this remarkable 2nd c. AD #sculpture of #Eros (Cupid) on a dolphin, approximating how it might have once appeared in the garden of an ancient Roman villa. But who’s captured who here? #polychromy #art #archaeology #romanhistory @MANNapoli 1/
The statue is on display at the Nat'l Archaeological Museum in Naples, but I can’t find information on its history or find spot. Once apparently part of the #Farnese Collection, a copy of a bronze #Greek original. 📸@MumblerJamie and Darren Puttoc. 2/
A few close-ups reveal that the head is likely modern - probably 18th c. (?), and quite good - but everything else, aside from a couple of fingers, appear to be ancient. The modern curls are very Botticelli-esque! 3/
Finally finished! A speculative reconstruction of the 1st c. AD funerary altar of the child Julia Victorina. Beautiful Ionic decorative scheme, with very specific spring flowers. So specific that I think they must have been individually colored. #polychromy #Louvre 1/
The funerary inscription is fairly standard, if not heartbreaking. Julia lived to the age of 10 years and 5 months, and is described as 'sweetest daughter'. My attempt at a translation, below. The letters get wonky on the bottom line! #epigraphy @abby_fecit @Caroline_Barron 2/
Julia's parents were Caius Julius Saturninus and Lucilia Procula. Julia Victorina inherited her name from her father, using the proper name of women born into the gens (family) Julia, the same ancient patrician family as Julius Caesar. 3/
