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Egypt in Italy: Visions of Egypt in Roman Imperial Culture PDF

272 Pages·2015·19.36 MB·English
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Egypt in Italy This book examines the appetite for Egyptian and Egyptian-looking artworks in Italy during the century following Rome’s annexation of Aegyptus as a province. In the early imperial period, Roman interest in Egyptian culture was widespread, as evi- denced by works ranging from monumental obelisks, brought to the capital via the Mediterranean Sea by the emperors, to locally made emulations of Egyptian arti- facts found in private homes and in temples to Egyptian gods. Although the foreign appearance of these artworks was central to their appeal, Molly Swetnam-Burland situates them within their physical, social, political, and artistic contexts in Roman Italy. She explores evidence for the artists who produced these exotic-looking art- works and examines their relationship to the contemporary literature that informed Roman perceptions of Egyptian history, customs, and myths. Molly Swetnam-Burland is an associate professor in the department of Classical Studies at The College of William & Mary. She has received fellowships from the Getty Research Institute, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut in Berlin, the University of Cincinnati, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has published articles in the American Journal of Archaeology, The Art Bulletin, and several edited volumes. Frontispiece. Visitors to the Temple of Isis in Pompeii (Jean-Louis Desprez 1779). Photo credit: Gianni Dagli Orti / The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY. E gypt in Italy Visions of Egypt in Roman Imperial Culture Molly Swetnam-Burland The College of William & Mary 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107040489 © Molly Swetnam-Burland 2015 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2015 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Swetnam-Burland, Molly. Egypt in Italy : visions of Egypt in Roman imperial culture / Molly Swetnam-Burland (College of William & Mary). pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-107-04048-9 (hardback) 1. Rome – Relations–Egypt. 2. Egypt – Relations – Rome. 3. Egypt – Foreign public opinion, Roman. 4. Rome – History – Empire, 30 B.C.–284 A.D. 5. Italy – History – To 476. 6. Art, Egyptian – Rome – History. 7. Architecture, Egyptian – Rome – History. 8. Egypt – Antiquities. 9. Rome – Intellectual life. 10. Rome – Civilization – Egyptian influences. I. Title. DG215.E3S83 2015 303.48∙237032–dc23 2014043438 ISBN 978-1-107-04048-9 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the von Bothmer Publication Fund of the Archaeological Institute of America. Contents List of Color Plates page vii List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgments xi Introduction: From Egypt to Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Historical Context and Framework 2 Egypt in Italy: Reconsidering, Recontextualizing 5 Images of Egypt 14 1 Egyptian Objects, Roman Contexts: Appropriation and Aesthetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 The Riches of Egypt: Trade, Production, and the “Egyptian” Aesthetic 19 Egyptian Imports in Italy 28 Egyptian Monuments, Made in Italy 41 Style and Substance: Egyptian Eclecticism 53 Egypt in the Empire 63 2 Aegyptus Redacta: Augustus’ Obelisks and the Spoils of Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Augustus’ Egyptian Obelisks 68 Celebrating Conquest: Victory Monuments and the Spoils of Egypt 71 Kingly Monuments in the Roman City: The Tomb of Cestius and the Egyptian Aesthetic 82 Educating Roman Eyes: Augustus’ Obelisks, Described in Rome 90 Augustus’ Obelisks in Rome: Circus Maximus and Campus Martius 97 3 The Sanctuary of Isis in Pompeii: Dedication and Devotion, Myth and Ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Decoration and Function of the Sanctuary of Isis 106 Cult and Community: The Isiaci 112 Display and Redisplay, Dedication and Devotion 117 Text and Context: Io and Isis in the Ekklesiasterion 125 v vi * Contents Appendix 3.1. Marble Inscriptions from the Sanctuary of Isis 138 Appendix 3.2. Dipinti Near the Sanctuary of Isis 139 Appendix 3.3. Multiples and Adaptations: Io Panel Paintings 140 Appendix 3.4. Graffiti Quoting or Adapting Ovid from Pompeii 141 4 Images of Egypt: Land at the Limit of Belief . . . . . . . . . .142 Nilotica: The Land and People of Egypt in Roman Art 144 Egypt in the Empire: The Vatican Nile and Louvre Tiber 155 “Between Neighboring Ombi and Tentura”: The Geography of Egypt in Juvenal 15 167 Appendix 4.1. Argument of Juvenal, Satire xv 181 Conclusion: The Afterlives of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182 Notes 187 Works Cited and Consulted 217 Index 247 Color Plates I Panel painting depicting Egyptian ritual, Herculaneum II Detail of the “black room,” Boscotrecase: Egyptian figure and Sobek venerating an Apis bull III Cameo glass flask: scenes of an Egyptian sanctuary IV Paintings from the sacrarium of the sanctuary of Isis in Pompeii: Isis on the Nile V Painting from the ekklesiasterion, sanctuary of Isis in Pompeii: Io, Argus, and Mercury VI Painting from the ekklesiasterion, sanctuary of Isis in Pompeii: Isis welcoming Io to Egypt VII Battle scene with pygmies and nilotic animals, House of the Doctor, Pompeii VIII Nile Mosaic, Praeneste Color plate section found at the end of the book. vii Illustrations I.1 Bronze statuette of Isis-Fortuna page 3 I.2 Detail of the “Mensa Isiaca” 7 I.3 Hieroglyphic inscription of Semtawy-Tefnakte, sanctuary of Isis, Pompeii 9 I.4 Fresco panel painting of Egyptian ritual, Herculaneum 13 1.1 Faience oinochoe or Queen’s Vase, Canosa 21 1.2a, b Alabaster vessel with inscriptions of Nebneteru and P. Claudius Pulcher 26 1.3 Detail of shrine painting from the House of the Golden Cupids, Pompeii 29 1.4 Detail of garden painting from the House of the Fruit Orchard, Pompeii 29 1.5 Sphinx of Amasis II associated with the Iseum Campense 32 1.6 Ushabty of Paef-Hery-Hesu from the sanctuary of Isis, Pompeii 33 1.7a, b, c Composite Isis and details of head and body 35 1.8 Composite canopic jar associated with the Iseum Campense 36 1.9 Statue of pharaoh from the Syrian sanctuary on the Janiculum 37 1.10 Plan of the Syrian sanctuary on the Janiculum 38 1.11 Gilded “idol” of Osiris from the Syrian sanctuary on the Janiculum 39 1.12 Statue of Dionysus from the Syrian sanctuary on the Janiculum 40 1.13 Piazza Navona obelisk 42 1.14 Beneventum obelisk 44 1.15 Trinità dei Monti obelisk 50 1.16 Imported sculpture of Arsinoë II, Horti Sallustiani 51 1.17a, b Front and rear views, Roman statue of Arsinoë II, Horti Sallustiani 52 1.18 North wall of the Black Room, Boscotrecase 55 1.19 Cameo glass fragment with Egyptian-inspired tribute scene 56 1.20 Cameo glass vessel with scenes of an Egyptian sanctuary 57 1.21a, b Archaizing statue of Isis, sanctuary of Isis in Pompeii 59 1.22a, b Statue of baboon associated with the Iseum and Serapaeum Campense 61 2.1 The Montecitorio obelisk 66 viii

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position forms a pivotal moment in Greek historiography, for Manetho was a native priest who wrote in Greek, therefore Osiris; Ammianus Marcellinus quoted a book that translated the obelisks in. Rome; Apuleius nodded to the ritual History of Egypt and Other Works. Translated by W. G. Waddell.
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