A marble relief panel from the monument known as the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, dated to the second half of the 2nd century BCE, held by the Glyptothek, Munich under inventory 239. The frieze depicts the wedding procession of Neptune and Amphitrite, the sea-god and his bride riding in a chariot drawn by two music-playing Tritons, surrounded by Nereids, Doris bearing wedding torches on a sea-horse, Erotes and sea creatures including a hippocamp, a Hellenistic sea thiasos in the Roman decorative tradition. A companion historical panel from the same monument, the census relief, is held by the Musee du Louvre. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Disputed
Attributed ToSourced to the subject's own accountThe Hellenistic carving style has led some scholars to attribute the marine panels to the Greek sculptor Scopas the Younger, though the attribution is disputed and the monument's traditional association with Domitius Ahenobarbus himself has also been questioned; some specialists refer to it instead as the Paris-Munich reliefs, after the cities that now hold its separated panels, precisely because neither the sculptor nor the patron can be fixed with confidence. 1 Physical Form
MediumSourced to the subject's own accountMarble relief, second half of the 2nd century BCE 1 Classification
Object TypeSourced to the subject's own account Medium (class)Sourced to the subject's own account Connections
Depicts
The bridegroom of the relief's wedding procession, shown in Roman art's own iconography of the sea-god, on display at the Glyptothek, Munich.
Source Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus (Wikipedia)
Additional Source Sea Thiasos Relief, File Record (Wikimedia Commons, Glyptothek Munich 239)
Sources
1. Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead, on the altar date and original setting
is a series of four sculpted marble plaques that probably decorated a base supporting cult statues in the cella of a Temple of Neptune located in Rome on the Field of Mars.
The frieze is dated to the end of the second century BC, which makes it the second oldest Roman bas-relief currently known.
catalogue record, medium/object-type description
A marble relief panel from the monument known as the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, dated to the second half of the 2nd century BCE, held by the Glyptothek, Munich under inventory 239.
View the Source Roman art (Wikipedia)
In Group: Ancient Roman Art, Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, dated to the second half of the 2nd century BCEView the Source Sea Thiasos Relief, File Record (Wikimedia Commons, Glyptothek Munich 239)
Wikimedia CommonsDepicts: NeptuneQuote, Depicts: Neptune
A maritime procession celebrating the wedding of Poseidon and Amphitrite.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.