University of Pennsylvania Museum

Marble Portrait of a Youth Probably from Cyprus 2nd- 3rd century AD # MS 5702 This portrait of a teenage boy has soft fuzzy sideburns, as if to suggest the beginnings of a beard. He represents an unknown Cypriot youth of the period of Roman domination of the island of Cyprus. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label

Marble Portrait of a Youth Probably from Cyprus 2nd- 3rd century AD # MS 5702 This portrait of a teenage boy has soft fuzzy sideburns, as if to suggest the beginnings of a beard. He represents an unknown Cypriot youth of the period of Roman domination of the island of Cyprus. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label

Marble Head of a Priest of the Imperial Cult Possibly from Caesarea (Kayseri), Turkey # MS 215 Tiny busts of 11 divinities decorate the figured crown. This type of crown seems to be most at home in Asia Minor where it is frequently but not exclusively associated with the imperial cult. Text from the University of Pennsylvania Museum label.

Marble Head of a Priest of the Imperial Cult Possibly from Caesarea (Kayseri), Turkey # MS 215 Tiny busts of 11 divinities decorate the figured crown. This type of crown seems to be most at home in Asia Minor where it is frequently but not exclusively associated with the imperial cult. Text from the University of Pennsylvania Museum label.

Marble Funeral Portrait of a Middle-Aged Man AD 240 # MS-250 The back of the head is summarily carved and the scale of this portrait is less than life-size. This suggests that the piece was displayed in a shallow niche inside a communal tomb known as a columbarium (dovecote), used for housing the cremated remains of the dead. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Marble Head of Cybele (?) Roman Imperial period # L-123-24 This head is a poorly modeled provincial work with flattened features and staring eyes. The abundant hair flowing to either side of the forehead and face are characteristic of Magna Mater's Asia Minor images. While the crown has been deliberately trimmed down, the back appears to have been attached once to a votive relief. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Limestone Loculus Cover Palmyra 2nd century AD # CBS 8902 This cover depicts a youth reclining with a vase in his left hand. Two males in smaller scale, perhaps slaves, stand by holding an amphora and a cup. Their rigidly frontal poses and stiff figural style are hallmarks of the provincial Roman style in Syria. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Limestone Loculus Cover Palmyra 2nd century AD # CBS 8904 This bust of a woman of high status, perhaps a priestess, is adorned with an elaborate headdress and jewelry. Palmyra's inhabitants spoke Aramaic and Greek in the 2nd century AD, when this cover was carved. The "Aramaic" epitaph here is false, however. It was added in modern times to increase its market value. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Fragment of a Mosaic Floor Bird Syria 4th-5th century AD # 68-39-1 Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Fragment of a Mosaic Floor Bird and Plant Syria or Turkey 4th-5th century AD #69-27-2 (?) Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Fragment of a Mosaic Floor Bird and Plant Syria 4th-5th century AD Anonymous Donor #68-39-3 Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Figural Mosaic Perhaps from Utica, Tunisia First half of the 3rd century AD # MS 4012 An intriguing puzzle, this mosaic appears to be an adaptation of a now lost mosaic from Hadrumentum (Sousse). It probably came from the Roman Tunisian town of Utica and represents Theseus sailing away from the Cretan labyrinth, here mostly missing. Its inscription, VINCLVSVS, repeated twice, remains controversial. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label. and Mosaic Flooring Mosaic flooring, the decorative equivalent of carpeting, was in near universal use throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans took the concept from the Greeks who made mosaics of carefully selected natural pebbles. In the 3rd- 2nd centuries BC this art form was modified through the use of tesserae- stones, glass, or glazed terracotta cubes cut to uniform sizes. Tessellated mosaics became the norm in the Roman period. The fragments shown here illustrate several techniques of Roman mosaic. Text from the U. Penn. Museum wall plaque.

Figural Mosaic Perhaps from Utica, Tunisia First half of the 3rd century AD # MS 4012 An intriguing puzzle, this mosaic appears to be an adaptation of a now lost mosaic from Hadrumentum (Sousse). It probably came from the Roman Tunisian town of Utica and represents Theseus sailing away from the Cretan labyrinth, here mostly missing. Its inscription, VINCLVSVS, repeated twice, remains controversial. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label. and Mosaic Flooring Mosaic flooring, the decorative equivalent of carpeting, was in near universal use throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans took the concept from the Greeks who made mosaics of carefully selected natural pebbles. In the 3rd- 2nd centuries BC this art form was modified through the use of tesserae- stones, glass, or glazed terracotta cubes cut to uniform sizes. Tessellated mosaics became the norm in the Roman period. The fragments shown here illustrate several techniques of Roman mosaic. Text from the U. Penn. Museum wall plaque.

Opus Alexandrinum Mosaic Rome 4th century AD # MS 4014 This flooring is made up of thin squares of red and green porphyry and slivers of white marble set to create a roughly checkerboard effect. This technique is called Opus Alexandrinum. Text from the U. Penn. Museum label. and Mosaic Flooring Mosaic flooring, the decorative equivalent of carpeting, was in near universal use throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans took the concept from the Greeks who made mosaics of carefully selected natural pebbles. In the 3rd- 2nd centuries BC this art form was modified through the use of tesserae- stones, glass, or glazed terracotta cubes cut to uniform sizes. Tessellated mosaics became the norm in the Roman period. The fragments shown here illustrate several techniques of Roman mosaic. Text from the U. Penn. Museum wall plaque.