classical antiquities

Opposite Detail of the fresco in the dining room of the Roman townhouse known as the Maison à portiques at Clos de la Lombarde, a suburb of Narbonne, c.AD 200. The central panel shows a (damaged) winged Victory holding a silver shield aloft, alongside a genius (protecting spirit), half naked and holding cornucopia and sacrificial dish (as is customary with such figures). In the panel to the right stands a soldier, and above is a depiction of a marble bust of the god Apollo on a red ground. The whole is set within an elaborate architectural setting, ultimately inspired by Hellenistic stage paintings, and widely employed earlier at Pompeii and elsewhere.

World Archaeology
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Narbo Via Archaeological Museum

The city of Narbonne in southern France has opened a brand new archaeological museum. Roger Wilson is our guide.

Minerva
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Parthenon, Athens, 1907

Boissonnas headed to Athens and worked to photograph the monuments of the Acropolis, a subject he returned to several times.

Top left Under wraps: a marble statue after restoration. top right Elena Cagnoni, a restorer, working on the Torlonia Vase, a neo Attic Roman creation that is one of the largest known antique vases. The decorations on the rim depict the Labours of Hercules. Size: 177cm x 230cm above A marble statue in the photo studio. Size: 135cm tall

Minerva
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Hidden treasures: the Torlonia Marbles

For more than 50 years, the world’s greatest private collection of Classical art has been inaccessible to the public, locked away while a bitter dispute raged between the Italian state and one of Rome’s illustrious princes. Now the famous Torlonia Collection is to go on display at last. Dalu Jones tells its story – and offers a private view of a major new exhibition.