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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1926.31.2
Title
Capital From a Pilaster
Classification
Architectural Elements
Work Type
architectural element
Date
130-190 CE
Period
Roman Imperial period, Middle
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/291706

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Marble
Dimensions
70 x 93 x 18.7 cm (27 9/16 x 36 5/8 x 7 3/8 in.)
197314.71 g

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
The capital was purchased from the dealer Augusto Frank in Rome.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Paul J. Sachs
Accession Year
1926
Object Number
1926.31.2
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Stone Sculptures: The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Harvard University Art Museums , written 1990
111

Capital from a Pilaster

The damage is extensive, especially at the ends of the volutes and leaves. The bottom has been cut away, as if the capital has been reused in a smaller setting.

At the time of acquisition or soon thereafter, the pilaster was said to have derived from the Ara Pacis Augustae. The Corinthian pilaster capitals on the outside precinct wall of the Ara Pacis, however, have broader, flatter leaves, without the bullet-shaped vertical cuttings and with less complex stems. The fragments of the internal pilasters were quite different (Kähler, 1963, pp. 66-69, pl. on p. 68; Moretti, 1948, I, p. 113, pl. E [general view as reconstructed], pp. 168-171).

The date of this pilaster capital would seem to be in the second century A.D., and stylistic details are similar to those of the capitals at the Forum Baths of Ostia (Heintze, 1971, pp. 59-60, pl. 56). On the Pantheon capitals the leaves have fan patterns, while the Harvard capital has more parallel channels (see generally, Heilmeyer, 1970, pl. 55). The detailing of the Forum of Trajan anticipates this pilaster capital (Heilmeyer, 1970, pl. 52); in turn the Temple of Vesta in the Forum anticipates Severan details (Heilmeyer, 1970, pl. 59).

Cornelius Vermeule and Amy Brauer

Publication History

  • Cornelius C. Vermeule III and Amy Brauer, Stone Sculptures: The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1990), p. 121, no. 111

Exhibition History

  • Ancient Installation at Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, 09/30/2013 - 01/26/2015

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