Marble Column Of Antoninus Pius

The marble base decorated with carvings now in the vatican museums was surmounted by a red granite column designed by the architect heraclides.

Marble column of antoninus pius.

This article deals with the lost column dedicated to antoninus pius. Colonna di antonino pio is a roman honorific column in rome italy devoted in ad 161 to the roman emperor antoninus pius in. In the eighteenth century it was damaged by fire and surviving fragments were used to repair the obelisk from augustus horologium now in the piazza di. His portraits thus represent him as a mature man in a sober but refined style that consciously echoes the imperial imagery adopted by hadrian.

Colonna di antonino pio is a roman honorific column in rome italy devoted in ad 161 to the roman emperor antoninus pius in the campus martius on the edge of the hill now known as monte citorio and set up by his successors the co emperors marcus aurelius and lucius verus. When antoninus pius died his adopted sons and successors marcus aurelius and lucius verus erected a monument to his honour in the campus martius close by the place where the emperor s body was cremated. The temple is located on the via sacra between the temple of romulus and the basilica aemilia in. Column of antoninus pius base apotheosis of antoninus pius and empress faustina.

After the death of antoninus pius in 161 ce the dedication was change to both antoninus and faustina. The column of antoninus pius italian. It served as an imperial tomb. At the beginning of his reign in a d.

Marble represents a depiction of an apotheosis a funerary ritual and an amazing glimpse into stagecraft that denotes a new emperor s ascension to the throne. Yet it did share with those other columns an important function. Decursio column of antoninus pius 161 marble the decursio reliefs break sharply with classical art conventions. The shaft of the column has been lost.

While the column of trajan was a tomb in the strict sense housing in its base the cremated remains of the emperor and his wife plotina in golden urns the column of antoninus pius like the later column of marcus aurelius was a cenotaph located near the spot where the emperor had been cremated. The temple of antoninus and faustina templum divi antonini et divae faustinae was built by the emperor antoninus pius shortly after the death of his beloved wife faustina the elder in 141 ce. For the column previously erroneously called this before the renaissance see column of marcus aurelius and specifically column of marcus aurelius restoration. Antoninus pius was adopted by hadrian as his successor when he was already fifty one years old.

Marble portrait of the emperor antoninus pius ca. Carved on the base is the scene of the apotheosis of the emperor and his wife faustina the elder who flanked by two eagles are lifted to heaven by a winged genius. The column of antoninus pius italian. The ground is the whole surface of the relief and the figures stand on floating patches of earth.

This monumental column of red granite was erected in memory of antoninus pius a d.