Adam and Eve from the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter
Adam and Eve, late 3rd to 4th century, Roman, fresco, Rome, Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter.
This fresco of Adam and Eve in the garden is instantly recognizable to anyone who is familiar with the scene from later centuries of Christian art. Within the catacomb, there is a mixture of pagan (including a representation of Orpheus playing a lyre), Christian (such as the raising of Lazarus), Old Testament (for example an elaborate depiction of the story of Jonah), and quotidian (a room decorated with paintings of athletes) imagery. This apparent comfort with the coexistence of styles and themes speaks to the gradual and adaptive shift in visual culture that occurred with the rise of Christianity. The catacomb itself, named after the saints and martyrs Marcellinus and Peter who are traditionally believed to have been buried there, covers 3 hectares in total with 4.5 kilometers of underground rooms on three distinct levels. During excavations in the 21st century, some 20,000 skeletons were found.
Byzantine Church (The Petra Church), 5th-6th century, Byzantine, Petra, Jordan.
The so-called Byzantine Church in Petra is one of three Byzantine Churches in the city, the other two are the Ridge Church (also called the Red Church) and the Blue Chapel. It is generally The Byzantine Church is thought to have been built in the first half of the 5th century with some rebuilding in the 6th century. The church was destroyed by a fiver in the 7th century. The Byzantine Church is notable for its monumental size, the 140 papyri found within (the Petra papyri), and the surviving mosaics, which depict animals, figures, the seasons, pottery, and plants.
Glass Cup, 4th century, Roman, Egypt (?), glass, height: 24 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum.
This ornamental cup bears a Greek inscription reading: “and for years to come!” It was found in Brsljin, Slovenia.
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien Antikensammlung, XI 975
Synagogue at Capernaum, 4th-5th century, Roman, white calcareous stone, Israel.
Although there is a synagogue at Capernaum mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, the ruins of a synagogue visible today date to the 4th or 5th century CE. There is, however, some evidence of an earlier structure beneath its foundations, and some scholars have suggested that these are the remains of the 1st-century building. The 4th-century synagogue is comprised of four sections: a columnated prayer hall that measured 20.5 x 18.5 m, an eastern courtyard (20.5 x 11m), a southern balustrade (4m wide), and a small room at the northwest end of the building. Scholarly opinion is dividing regarding the possibility of there having once been a second floor with a prayer space reserved for women. The synagogue was decorated with carved figurative motifs, Jewish motifs (such as a menorah with a ram’s horn on one capital), as well as floral motifs. An inscription in Greek reads (in translation): Herod son of Mo[ni]mos and Justus his son, together with (his) children, erected this column. An inscription in Aramaic reads (in translation): Halfu son of Zebida, the son of Yohanan, made this column. May he be blessed.
Raphael, The Meeting of Leo I and Attila, 1513-4, Italian, fresco, 500 x 750cm, Vatican City, Apostolic Palace.
Museum Description: “The encounter between Leo the Great and Attila is the last fresco painted in this room. It was completed after the death of Julius II (pontiff from 1503 to 1513), during the pontificate of his successor Leo X (pontiff from 1513 to 1521). In fact the latter appears twice in the same scene, portrayed in the guise of Pope Leo the Great and as cardinal. According to legend, the miraculous apparition of Saints Peter and Paul armed with swords during the meeting between Pope Leo the Great and Attila (452 A.D.) caused the king of the Huns to desist from invading Italy and marching on Rome. Raphael situates the scene at the gates of Rome, identified by the Colosseum, by an aqueduct, an obelisk and other buildings, even if in fact the historical event took place in the north of Italy, near Mantua.”
One ounce Weight with Busts of Two Emperors
One ounce Weight with Busts of Two Emperors, late 4th-5th century, Roman, bronze with silver inlays, 2.3 x 2.1 x 0.48 cm, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks.
Museum Description: “Rectangular Weight with Busts of Two Emperors, a Gamma and an Alpha (1 oz.)”
Forgery of a Gold Semissis of Anastasios I
Forgery of a Gold Semissis of Anastasios I (r. 491-518), gold-plated copper, diam: 20 mm, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks.
Obverse: Bust of Anastasios I facing right with diadem, cuirass, and paludamentum. DNANASTA-SIVSPPAVC D[OMINUS NOSTER] ANASTASIVS P[ER]P[ETEUUS] AVC[VSTVS] Our Lord, Anastasios, Perpetual Emperor Reverse: Victory, nude to the waist, seated facing right on shield and cuirass, inscribing XXXX on shield she holds on her knee. VICTORI-AAVCCC VICTORIA AVGVSTORUM Victory of the Augusti
Gold Chain with Fifty-Two Pendants, 2nd quarter of the 5th century, Germanic (Gepid?), gold and smoky quartz, length: 176 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum.
This gold necklace was found in Szilágysomlyó (modern-day Simleu-Silvaniei, Romania) in 1797 by two shepherd boys. The central pendant is smoky quartz. The other 51 pendants depict various tools and weapons in miniature as well as a man in a canoe. The chain would have been worn cross-shaped over the chest and back and the loose ends hooked into a ring eyelet.
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien Antikensammlung, VIIb 1
Galerius attacking Narseh, detail from the Arch of Galerius,
Detail of Galerius attacking Narseh, Arch of Galerius, dedicated 303, marble, Thessaloniki, Greece.
The Arch of Galerius was built between 298 and 299 and dedicated in 303 to celebrate his victory at the Battle of Satala and the capture of Ctesiphon. In this detail, Galerius (at left) is shown attacking Narseh (or Narses, at right). Narseh was the seventh Sasanian King of Kings of Iran and ruled from 293 to 303. Galerius, Caesar under Diocletian, invaded Mesopotamia, which Narseh had previously occupied in an attempt to cut off Galerius’s advance. After two battles with no clear winner, Narseh defeated Galerius completely at Callinicum. However, Galerius returned in 297 and invaded Armenia with 25,000 men. In this instance, Galerius was victorious. Eventually, a peace treaty was agreed upon. The scene on the triumphal arch in Thessaloniki takes some artistic license, Galerius and Narseh never met in battle.
Fragment of the Edict on Maximum Prices (in Greek)
Fragment of the Edict on Maximum Prices (in Greek) re-used as part of the door frame of the medieval church of John Chrysostom, Geronthres, Greece.
Issued by Diocletian in 301, the Edict on Maximum prices gives the maximum prices for more than 1,200 products, raw materials, labor, services, modes of transport, animals, and for enslaved peoples. Fresh green animal fodder could be purchased for 1 denarius communis (the lowest price listed) and a male lion or purple dyed silk for 150,000 denari. The edict survives in fragments on stone inscriptions in both Greek and Latin, all but one of which were found in the Eastern part of the Empire.
https://www.academia.edu/23644199/New_ English_translation_of_the_Price_Edict_of_D iocletianus