Luxus Roads. A Rare Diadem with Sapphires from Colonna (Rome)

Un gioiello costituito da venticinque maglie d’oro in forma di nodi erculei disposti verticalmente è stato rinvenuto nel 2011 a Colonna (Roma) all’interno del sarcofago di una complessa sepoltura femminile – una tomba con camera ipogea inaccessibile, datata alla fine del II secolo d.C. L’oggetto è lungo 29 cm e tutte le maglie sono state predisposte per ricevere un secondo elemento, che si conserva in soli sette casi: sette zaffiri, per un totale di 46,20 carati. La completa scomparsa degli altri diciotto elementi e il loro sistema di montaggio indicano con elevata probabilità che si trattasse di perle. A oggi, il monile rappresenta un unicum tra i gioielli rinvenuti nei territori dell’impero romano. Collane a catena con maglie in forma di nodi erculei semplici – disposti orizzontalmente – che si alternano a fixing-links su cui sono infilate gemme (per lo più prismi di smeraldo) sono noti nella gioielleria romana grazie al loro rinvenimento in tesori, datati al III secolo d.C. La lunghezza dell’oggetto da Colonna e la sua posizione all’interno del sarcofago, vicino sia alla testa sia al collo, fanno supporre che il monile sia uno dei rari gioielli per il capo, attestati nel II/III secolo d.C. nelle province occidentali dell’impero romano in sepolture femminili di rango, consistenti in un diadema che passa sulla fronte o sopra di essa, da orecchio a orecchio. Lo stile del diadema da Colonna, che si adatta in modo particolare alle pettinature di età antonina, lascia ipotizzare che il gioiello sia stato creato tra i primi anni Quaranta e la metà degli anni Sessanta del II secolo d.C. Alcune osservazioni sono infine riservate a una possibile lettura simbolica della forma, già altamente decorativa in sé, del nodo erculeo.A piece of jewellery made of twenty-five gold links in the shape of vertically oriented Hercules knots was found in the sarcophagus of a complex female inhumation—a tomb, with an underground, inaccessible burial chamber, dated to the late 2nd century CE—at Colonna (Rome) in 2011. It is 29 cm long, and all the links were made to receive a second element, which is preserved in seven cases only: seven sapphires, amounting on the whole to 46.2 carats. The complete disappearance of the other eighteen elements and their mounting system strongly suggests that they were pearls. At present, this piece of jewellery is a unicum among the jewels from the Roman empire. Chain necklaces with links in the shape of simple gold Hercules knots—horizontally oriented—alternating with fixing-links bearing gemstones (mostly emerald prisms) are known in Roman jewellery from treasures dating to the 3rd century CE. The length of this item from Colonna and its position in the sarcophagus, close to both the neck and the skull, suggest that the object is related to rare ornaments for the head, attested in 2nd-/3rd-century CE high-ranking female burials in the western Roman empire, which consist of a diadem running above or across the forehead, from ear to ear. The style of the diadem, fitting mostly hairdos dated to the Antonine period, suggests that the diadem from Colonna was created between the early 40s and the mid-60s of the 2nd century CE. Some further observations are finally devoted to the symbolism of the highly decorative shape of the Hercules knot

Scene di Roma antica. Evoluzione di un progetto

Presentation of the Project Scenes of Ancient Rome. The antiquity interpreted by contemporary arts edited by the Authors.Presentazione introduttiva della prima parte del Progetto Scene di Roma antica. L'antichità interpretata dalle arti contemporanee, curato dagli Autori

Sei Alsengemmen a Brescia

Les Alsengemmen sont des gemmes en verre à deux strates, imitant le nicolo et tirent leur nom d’un exemplaire retrouvé en 1871 dans l’île danoise de Als. L’article présente six nouveaux exemplaires de Brescia qui viennent s’ajouter à ceux des catalogues existant, qui réunissent 193 pièces, ainsi qu’un tableau recensant et décrivant une série de 135 gemmes. C’est l’occasion de quelques nouvelles réflexions sur la distribtion et la chronologie de ces gemmes particulières, réutilisées pour certaines dans des objets lithurgiques au Moyen Âge, dans les zones des Pays-Bas, de la Rhénanie-Westphalie et de la Basse-Saxe.Alsengemmen are two-layer glass gems, imitating the nicolo and deriving their name from a specimen found in the Danish island of Als. This article presents six new specimens from Brescia coming in addition to those of the existing catalogues, which number 193 items, together with a chart making an inventory of and describing a series of 135 gems. It provides an opportunity for fresh reflection on the distribution and chronology of these peculiar gems, some of which were reused in liturgical objects in the Middle Ages, in such areas as the Netherlands, Rhenany-Westphalia and Lower Saxony

The Chiaravalle Cross: Results of a Multidisciplinary Study

The Chiaravalle Cross, a masterpiece of Mediaeval goldsmithery, went under restoration in 2016. This was a unique opportunity to undertake an in-depth multidisciplinary study. Several issues were addressed, as for example the chronology of the Cross, lacking any official document about it. The scientific investigations included in situ and laboratory measurements, and the analyses, part of a multidisciplinary protocol, completely characterized the gemstones adorning the Cross, the cameos, the gold, silver, jasper and glass parts, to derive indications on their provenance, authenticity and dating issues. All the results were shared with the whole collaboration of experts, which included art historians, a restorer, a conservator, a scholar in ancient glyptic, gemologists, archaeometallurgists, physicists and scientists in a very fruitful exchange of knowledge. This work is an example of a real multidisciplinary research, gathering good practices in the study of a complex piece of art