Room III - 131/138 AD
Reconstruction of the Serapeum and Canopus
of Hadrian's Villa with statues:
“Two-faced Osiris/Apis (Serapis) born from the lotus
flower” erroneously restored in the eighteenth century with a female
lower part
“In the Serapeum of the Canopus Hadrian
implements a brave attempt at religious reform, deifying his favorite Antinous
drowned in the canal known as Canopus which linked Alexandria to the main
branch of the Nile, through assimilation with Osiris, the god who dies and is
reborn in turn formerly associated by the Ptolemies with Serapis, Alexandrian
divinity of salvation” (Web site of the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Priests and priestesses” participating in
the ritual of the birth of Osiris
“God Nefertum”
“God Ptah”
“Antinous/Osiris” from the Pecile of Hadrian's
Villa, found in 1736
“Isis-Sothis-Demeter” from the Palestra of
Hadrian's Villa, found in about 1550
“She was considered to be the bearer of the
flood of the Nile River. The bust would hung over a fountain powered by a large
tank which, driven by complex hydraulic mechanisms, was able to replicate a
sort of Nile flood in the Canopus. The association of Isis with Sothis is also
motivated by the fact that in 139 it began a new sothiac era (every 1465 years)
and Hadrian had planned a series of festivities for the occasion” (Web site of
the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
Room IV - I/II century AD - Egypt and Rome
Statues and a relief Roman imitations of
Egyptian originals
“Dog-headed Thoth” from Rome
“God Anubis” in white marble from Villa Pamphilj
in Anzio
“God Anubis, lord of mummification, who led
the dead to the underworld, represented here in the Roman style wearing a toga,
but following an 'Egyptianising' iconography. In his right hand he holds a sistrum,
while the left has the caduceus of Hermes, which served to guide the souls in
Greek-Roman religion” (Web site of the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Hapy God of fertility” found in Veii in about
1812
“Recumbent figure of the Nile” from Rome
Room V - 2000 BC/100 AD - Masterpieces of Pharaonic Statuary
“Two statues of the Goddess Lioness Sekhmet”
sitting 1390/1352 BC in gray granite, from the Temple of Mut (equivalent to
Sekhmet) at Karnak, reign of Amenhotep III, XVIII Dyn
Eight more statues of the same goddess are
outside on the hemicycle of the Cortile della
Pigna (Courtyard of the Pine Cone)
They were part of two series of 365 statues
each on display in the Temple of Mut at Karnak built by Amenhotep III himself
“Head of Mentuhotep II” 2010/1998 BC, XI
dynasty from Thebes in yellowish sandstone with face painted red
“Statue of the great priest of Ra Hor-Udja”
about 600 BC from Heliopolis, XVI din.
“Colossal statue of queen Tuya mother of Ramses II”
(1297/1213 BC) in dark granite with yellowish-red spots, from Thebes
“The Queen Tuya, an important historical
figure, was wife of Pharaoh Seti I (1294/1279 BC) and venerated mother of his
successor, Ramses II (1279/1213 BC). The work was dedicated in the temple of
the latter, the Ramesseum, at Thebes, and from there it was brought to Rome by
Caligula (AD 37/41), along with statues of Ptolemy Philadelphus and Arsinoe II (in
the room) to adorn the gardens of Sallust, where they were discovered in the
eighteenth century, in the neighborhood of Piazza Fiume” (Web site of the
Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Colossal statues of Ptolemy Philadelphus and Arsinoe II”
from Heliopolis in red granite, found along with that of the queen Tuya near
Piazza Fiume
“Colossal statue of Arsinoe II-Drusilla”
dating back to the reign of Caligula (37/41 AD) from the gardens of Sallust in
Rome
Tacitus and Suetonius report of an
incestuous relationship between Caligula, faithful follower of the Egyptian
religion, and his sister Drusilla that he wanted to celebrate just like an
Egyptian goddess
“Genius Bes” protector of pregnant women,
I/II century AD from Rome
“Bust of Serapis” second century AD from Rome
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