#Procula

MALE FIGURE WITH CORNUCOPIA AND PLATE, FROM THE VILLA OF NUMISIA PROCULA, C. 150 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS This idealised figure is painted in shades of red-brown against a white background. He's nude apart from two cloths wrapped around his forearms. The only other colour is green, which is used for sketched-in long leaves on the plate he holds in his right hand, more greenery emerging from the cornucopia he holds in his left hand, and a leafy crown around his head. His torso is beautifully modelled in light and shadow, his hands (always hard to paint) are convincing, and he stands with his weight on his right leg, or rather floats, as there is no ground. The artist has sketched him in outline first, and filled the figure in afterward. His form is based on a famous Greek statue, the Doryphoros or Spear-Bearer by Polykleitos. This fresco is a clear testimony of the taste for Greek art popularised by the emperor Hadrian.

This #FrescoFriday, the #VaticanMuseums is serving up naked young men in #fresco form. This one comes from the villa of Numisia #Procula at #TorMarancia along the via #Nomentana outside #Rome. She was the noble wife of an ex-consul, and the villa dates from about 150 CE. #AncientBluesky 🏺

POLYCHROME EMBLEMA FROM TOR MARANCIA, C. 150 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS This is how we do it Roman-style. From a dig in 1817-1823 on the estate of Tor Marancia this small-tessera mosaic emerged from the ruins of a C2 CE villa. The mosaic begins with a nested series of black and white frames, beginning on the outside edges with a lotus-like pattern in white formed by overlapping half-circles. Further in, a braid of guilloches surrounds a white frame and then a checkerboard pattern. Hanging from the inmost frame are a plucked fowl and a fish, with a large bundle of dates from a palm next to them at right. Below, a bucket of seafood stands next to another fish, and at lower right, a large bundle of, what else, asparagus. This vivid collection of food represents the intangible spirit of xenia, the love of the stranger, of the guest, which made a good centrepiece for a dining room.

For #MosaicMonday this week, an #emblema from the #triclinium of the villa of Numisia #Procula at #TorMarancia along the via #Ardeatina, c. 150 CE. The #polychrome centre is full of delicious delicacies representing the host's #xenia or guest-welcoming. #AncientBluesky 🏺

The mysteries surrounding Claudia Procula, Pontius Pilate's wife Claudia Procula, also known simply as Claudia or Procula, is a fascinating figure in biblical and apocryphal history. Though she is mentioned only once in the canonical Gospels, her influence and the reflections on her life have intrigued historians, theologians, and writers for centuries. This arti

The mysteries surrounding Claudia #Procula, Pontius Pilate's wife #religion #Bible ✝️