One of the latest finds in Herculaneum.

[Klingan]

I found this at the National museum in Naples and this is one of the absolutely latest finds from Herculaneum, it's only been unearthed for 2 months. I can unfortunately not give you much further information as I forgot to take notes on the sign next to it, but it might be interesting anyway. Enjoy.

 

[sylla]

I found this at the National museum in Naples and this is one of the absolutely latest finds from Herculaneum, it's only been unearthed for 2 months. I can unfortunately not give you much further information as I forgot to take notes on the sign next to it, but it might be interesting anyway. Enjoy.

 

It may be this one (please correct me if I'm wrong):

 

New treasure joins Herculaneum show (ANSA) - Naples, March 17

A new treasure from Herculaneum was unveiled in Naples on Tuesday, where it will join a major exhibition exploring life in the Ancient Roman town buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD... uncovered over the last three centuries but the new relief, uncovered by accident last month, is stirring fresh interest. The marble sculpture, dating back to the 1st century AD, apparently depicts two separate scenes centred on Dionysius, the Greek counterpart of Ancient Rome's god of wine and merrymaking, Bacchus.

''The relief is particularly fascinating for scholars as we are not yet certain exactly the tale that is being reproduced on the work,'' explained Herculaneum's excavation chief Maria Paola Guidobaldi.

''It almost certainly shows Dionysius and what appears to be one of his female followers, a Maenad, dancing. However, there are also two other figures, one with men's hair and the other wearing female clothes that aren't yet clear.

''Nor are we certain what gift is being offered to Dionysius. It was very probably some kind of offering, perhaps a thanksgiving, much as people make today to patron saints''. The Greek marble relief was uncovered by accident in Herculaneum on February 18, during regular maintenance work.

It was located in a luxurious residential building on the northwest block of the town, which has only been partly excavated so far. The relief was fixed in the eastern wall of a large room, at about two metres above the ground. It appears to have been designed as a partner for another relief, located at the same level on the southern wall of the room, which was removed in 1997. ''The find is particularly important owing to the interpretation of the scene it shows, which is still an open question,'' said Pompeii Superintendent Pietro Giovanni Guzzo. ''So far no one has been able to find a connection between the two separate scenes dividing the relief, the dancer and the homage to Dionysius''

 

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Edited May 2, 2009 by sylla

[Klingan]

Yes it should be that one. I though the date of the find was feb 19th but 18th is close enough. This was also the only very recent find at the exhibition.

 

Any thoughts on the interpretation?

[sylla]

Yes it should be that one. I though the date of the find was feb 19th but 18th is close enough. This was also the only very recent find at the exhibition.

 

Any thoughts on the interpretation?

This is another description (and the confirmation of the identity of this relief) from the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei :

 

The marble relief on display here, which shows Dionysiac scenes, was discovered in Herculaneum on 18 February 2009.

It was found in a large room with fourth-style decorations in a partly excavated luxury residence in the so-called northwest insula. It was inserted into the painted wall plaster of the east wall of the room at a height of 2 m from the floor.

In 1997 a similar relief, again with a Dionysiac setting, was removed from the south wall of the same room, where it had been inserted into the wall in the same way and at the same height from the floor, Inserting marble reliefs (typoi) into wall decorations was particularly fashionable in the Roman world from the first century BC onwards. Rich and cultured patrons obtained original Greek works of art, or copies of them, from the antiquarian market and used them as prestigious ornaments in their homes. This can be seen in a passage of a letter dating to 67 BC (ad Atticum 1.10.3), in which Cicero asks a friend to purchase on his behalf two sculpted puteals (well heads) and, moreover, marble reliefs to insert in the painted decoration of his villa at Tusculum.

The recent discovery has allowed the technique used for embedding a typos in a wall to be recorded in detail: the face of the opus reticulatum wall was slightly hollowed out to a depth of 5 cm and the relief was placed in this niche without using mortar. Instead support was provided by two iron cramps on the long sides (1.08 m) and a single cramp on the short sides (0.54 m) where there was no frame. Once painted plaster was added the edges were totally covered.

On the right-hand side of the Greek marble relief are a dancing Maenad and a bearded male divinity, probably Dionysius. While on the left there are two female figures in front of an archaistic statue of Dionysius with a kantharos (drinking vessel). The adult woman has her hand on the shoulder of the younger one in a protective gesture. The object in the hands of the young woman is difficult to identify: a tool or a torch, perhaps related to a particular ritual.

The relief was made in a neo-Attic workshop in the first half of the 1st century AD. It is not clear if there is a narrative connection between the two separate scenes, or if it is instead a pastiche where Dionysiac motifs and scenes were mixed or re-presented according to precise decisions made by the patron, who had chosen this theme for the south wall of the room as well.

 

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