1925.6.35: Wall Painting Fragment with Vegetal Motif
Fragments
This object does not yet have a description.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1925.6.35
- Title
- Wall Painting Fragment with Vegetal Motif
- Classification
- Fragments
- Work Type
- wall painting fragment(s)
- Date
- 1st century CE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
- Period
- Roman Imperial period, Early
- Culture
- Roman
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/292103
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Pigment on plaster
- Technique
- Fresco painting
- Dimensions
- H. 9.4 x D. 1.3 x W.13.5 cm (3 11/16 x 1/2 x 5 5/16 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Fausto Benedetti, Rome (by 1925), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1925.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Fausto Benedetti
- Accession Year
- 1925
- Object Number
- 1925.6.35
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
-
This fragment of wall painting depicts a red panel with a black register beneath it, separated by a white band. In the central red section is a repeating pattern of vegetal motifs, rendered in light yellow paint with a thin brush. A white band along the top of the fragment depicts a series of teardrops, which have been left unpainted so that the red ground shows through.
- Commentary
-
Brightly colored wall paintings often decorated the interior, and sometimes exterior, of Roman buildings. The fragment shown is just one small part of a much larger decorative scheme that would have covered an entire wall.
The whimsical nature and thin, delicate lines are found in paintings from the first century CE. This style was characterized by highly stylized decorative motifs on panels of flat ground color, often in red, black, or white.
Exhibition History
- Roman Gallery Installation (long-term), Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/16/1999 - 01/20/2008
- 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/20/2018 - 05/06/2018
Subjects and Contexts
- Roman Domestic Art
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu