PEPLUM

#ReliefWednesday – Marble relief from ancient Praeneste (modern Palestrina, Italy), traditionally interpreted as depicting the posthumous Parthian triumph of Trajan in AD 118. Trajan appears in a four-horse chariot (quadriga), wearing triumphal dress and holding a sceptre. A smaller attendant stands behind him, supporting a ceremonial crown above his head, while lictors carrying fasces accompany the procession. The chariot is decorated with a winged Victory. Following Trajan’s death in AD 117, the Senate offered Hadrian a triumph to celebrate his predecessor’s victories in the East. Hadrian declined the honour for himself and instead arranged for Trajan’s effigy to be carried in a triumphal chariot. Discovered in 1967, the relief is believed to have formed part of the funerary monument of Quintus Fabius Postuminus, a distinguished senator who served as urban prefect under Trajan. 📍 Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Palestrina, Italy (inv. 6520).

#PortraitThursday – A magnificent bronze portrait of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180), discovered in 1974 at the Roman auxiliary fort of Lugio (modern Dunaszekcső), on the Danube frontier in Hungary. Dated to AD 161–169, the head is approximately one and a half times life-size and ranks among the finest surviving bronze portraits from Roman Pannonia. Cast using the lost-wax technique, probably in a workshop in Italy or the eastern provinces, the portrait depicts the emperor in his forties, with thick curly hair and a full beard. The head was found in a small brick building, possibly a military shrine, and originally belonged to a larger imperial statue, perhaps showing Marcus Aurelius in armour. Its presence at the fort probably reflected the imperial cult and the emperor's symbolic authority over the frontier garrison. 📍 Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs, Hungary. Photographed during the exhibition Marcus Aurelius – Emperor, Commander, Philosopher at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier.