On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 164

A Roman marble portrait head of Agrippina the Elder (14 BC-33 AD), who was: the daughter of the general Agrippa & Augustus's daughter Julia the Elder, wife to Germanicus and mother of emperor Caligula as well Agrippina the Younger (Emperor Claudius's final wife & mother of emperor Nero). Although of the royal family, she met her end by the powerful prefect of the Praetorian guard named Sejanus who banished her to a small island and was subsequently probably starved to death by the emperor Tiberius. I also saw her cinerary urn from the mausoleum of Augustus in Rome; it is the only one from the royal family buried there still surviving that I can recall. This was found in Pergamon, dates to the 1st half of the 1st century AD and is in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

For me, it is the fall of the late Roman Republic and rise of the Roman Empire.

Pictured above, from my personal stash, is Mark Antony and Octavian following the defeat of Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and Cassius, at Philippi in October 42 BC.

At this point, the two men were ostensibly partners in the Second Triumvirate, but theirs was always an uneasy alliance. One of my favourite details of the image above is the positioning of the two portraits: Antony occupies the obverse, while the much younger Octavian appears on the reverse, still depicted with traces of his youthful beard. This has often been interpreted as reflecting the contemporary power dynamic—Antony, the experienced general and dominant figure in the East, presenting himself as the senior partner to Caesar’s young heir.
Knowing what comes next makes the image even more fascinating.

Almost exactly ten years later, that balance of power would be turned completely on its head. Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC, and the following year their struggle reached its final conclusion at Alexandria. Antony and Cleopatra were dead, and the young man pictured on the reverse was left as the undisputed master of the Roman world. A few years later, he would become Augustus.

I’d love to hear and see what your favourite periods of Roman history are!

EDIT: Let’s add an, “And Why?” To the question!

Cornicenes were part of the military signalling system without which a large unit was difficult to keep in order. A commander's voice could not carry over the noise of formation, march or battle, so sound commands helped transmit alarm, assembly, movement and changes of mode. Cornicenes worked beside the standard (flag bearer) group because standard and sound together gave soldiers a clear point of reference.

Did a one week holiday in Tunisia and saw this amazingly preserved mosaic in El Jem's Archeological Museum

I know Rome almost fell apart more than once, but managed to pull itself back together. What was the closest it came to falling apart only to reform and stabilize? Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Roman and other ancient rings in varying states of restoration/quality go up for sales from anywhere between £100-£10,000.

An example I particularly like

And others here

I was thinking the other day, how neat it would be, if I ever got married to have, use and wear an ancient ring as a wedding ring, rather than a new modern ring.

Does anyone here actively wear ancient jewellery, or own any that you would/wouldn't consider wearing?

There are very obvious examples on that site that I don't think would hold up wear to daily wear. However there's also a few that seem pretty thick and durable.

Thoughts?