The only surviving Roman draco (dragon) standard was this gilded bronze version found in the ruins of the Limes fortress in Niederbieber, Germany. It would have originally had a fabric ‘windsock’ attached which would billow out behind the head. 1/

📸 me
📸 Codrin.B (Wikimedia)

In the 2nd c. CE, Arrian writes that the Romans adopted the draco from the Scythians, but he probably meant the Sarmatians/Dacians, as we can see from spolia represented on the base of Trajan’s Column and a relief from the Hadrianeum in Rome. These were more wolf-like. 2/

📸 me

One-stop statuette to pray to multiple gods! Silver statuette with gilding, of the Gallo-#Roman goddess Tutela, with a double cornucopia and a mural crown worn as a protector of a city. She holds a patera (libation dish) in her right hand. Let's identify the gods ... 1/ The double cornucopia holds the heads of Diana and Apollo, and her upright wings carry the busts of the Dioscurii, Castor and Pollux. Above them is a stand with the busts of several other gods ... 2/

I'm always interested in how a scene from myth is shown in different media. Here we have Achilles - in women's clothing! - hiding out among the daughters of King Lykomedes on the island of Skyros. Always shown at the moment of discovery by Odysseus (in cap). 1/ 1st example: a sarcophagus made in Athens, ca. AD 180-220, depicting scenes from the life of Achilles. On the right side is the scene from Skyros, with Achilles hiding behind his shield, the young, pregnant Deidamia hanging from his neck, pleading him to stay. #GettyVilla 2/

Another day, another clusterf**k from Twitter. Apparently, the platform is removing text message two-factor authentication, which will henceforth only be for (snicker) Twitter Blue subscribers. It must be turned off, or you lose access to Twitter. OK, so let's do it ... ah. 😆 I mean, sure, turn off a security feature that's standard on most platforms, just so your CEO can say 'suck it, losers' to all non-Twitter Blue subs. Unbelievable.

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/

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/

What a party outfit! This new speculative digital restoration is the Roman god #Mithras, from a 2nd c. AD Roman sculpture in the British Museum. I’ve used the fresco from the #Mithraeum in Capua as the inspiration for Mithras’ pseudo-Persian outfit. 1/ #tauroctony The challenge was to interpret and render the colors and designs from the fresco in the #Mithraeum of S. Maria Capua Vetere onto the cult statue of #Mithras. The legging symbols: stars and planets, or rosettes and crowns? 2/

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/