CLASSICAL ANTIQUITIES DEPARTMENT

Cleaning of the Braccio Nuovo Vatican Museums Galleries

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums

This amazing project began in 2009 thanks to the generosity of the Patrons of the Arts, and with the addition of this project, will become the first Gallery entirely restored by Patrons! Some of the most important dinners for both the Cardinals and the Patrons of the Arts are held in this marvellous place. Located between the Chiaramonti Gallery and the Profane Museum, the Braccio Nuovo is one of the most frequented and admired Galleries inside the Vatican. Built under the supervision of Raffaele Stern during the pontificate of Pope Pius VII and opened to the public in 1822, The Braccio Nuovo is one of the most beautiful examples of Neoclassical Art. The architecture and colored marble (often taken from old Roman buildings) recall the ancient and glorious past where classic sculptures are displayed in ideal niches similar to their original ambience. The caisson ceiling has skylights that allow natural light to break through and illuminate the whole architectural space. The walls are decorated with stucco-friezes in bas reliefs done by Francesco Massimiliano Laboureur and inspired by famous Roman monuments (e.g. the Trajan Column and the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum). There are niches that showcase the statues perfectly. Several busts are located on small columns and shelves. This project will focus on the restoration of the sculptures and friezes located on the left hand side of the wall up to the Nile Statue. The task is to complete the cleaning of 132 busts and statues. This project is proving an invaluable opportunity for a comprehensive and thorough study of the sculptures and has already produced results of importance for the history of restorations between the 16th through the 19th centuries. The Braccio Nuovo, born expressly as a museum display room, is unique from all other galleries in the museums and is one of our most scenic. Its restoration is essential to guarantee the continuation of this project and obtaining additional funding will support the restoration of the remaining 132 sculptures (statues and busts). For the first time in the history of the Museums, an entire selection of classical sculpture will be studied according to a well-planned program both in regards to the historical documentary research and the technical production. The entire project is intended to become a paradigmatic model of intervention to be extended to other areas of the museums of classical sculpture. The work provides a conservative intervention of surface cleaning, grouting and aesthetic treatment for all the sculptures and busts, as well as maintenance on the stucco friezes performed by the Marble Laboratory. All phases of work will be duly documented with photographs and the creation of graphics. A database recording each conservation sculptural work and the model used by the laboratory will accompany the intervention.

Statue of Ariadne lying on a sarcophagus

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the California Chapter

This large and elegant statue is now located in one of the most important and well known galleries of the Vatican Museums: the Gallery of Busts and Statues in the Pius Clementine Museum where gala dinners for Patrons are often held. Ariadne (Latin Arianna) is one of the most celebrated characters of antiquity, an inspiration for artists over several centuries, like Poussin, Velasquez and De Chirico. This statue, purchased by Julius II himself, entered the Vatican in 1512; the same year Michelangelo unveiled the Sistine Chapel. No doubt Pope Julius II must have been deeply touched by the beauty and elegance of the figure. and envisioned this statue complimenting the many male statues already in the collection. Ariadne was placed in the Belvedere Courtyard where she was intended to enhance the fountain. From this moment on the statue was one of the most important in the papal collection. This sculpture represents a sleeping woman reclining on a rock with her legs slightly crossed. Her left arm is gently bent with her hand supporting her inclined face, while the other arm bends over her head. The young woman is wearing a long dress of light fabric folding in different ways. She also wears a mantle which folds underneath her in voluminous drapes. Due to the snake-shaped bracelet (armilla) she wears, this statue was for a long time identified with Cleopatra. However, in 1782 Ennio Quirino Visconti, famous Italian archaeologist of the XVIII century, stated that the statue was indeed representing Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, who helped the hero Theseus win over the Minotaur. The myth tells the story of Ariadne, who was abandoned by Theseus on the island of Naxo and then became the bride of the god Dionysus. One theory is that this statue was part of a larger and more complex group, in which Dionysus, maybe with a satyr, was portrayed in the very moment in which he sees the beautiful girl asleep and falls in love with her. However there is no other supporting documentation for this hypothesis. Yet, there are two replicas of the figure of Ariadne, one in Florence and the other in the Prado Museum in Madrid. By comparing our original to the two replicas, it is apparent that the Vatican's statue was restored several times during the XVI century. Both the replicas are more reclined on the rock indicating that the position of our sculpture was modified. The actual position of the original was created in 1703 by Lorenzo Ottoni. In 1819, when the statue was brought back from Paris, Michele Ilari restored it once again and returned it to the original place. This statue needs to be cleaned to determine the history, value, and provenance of Ariadne: is this statue a Roman copy of the Greek bronze original or an original from Asia Minor? The restoration will enable the Vatican Classical Antiquities scholars to track down the true artist and the history of this major sculpture that influenced so many modern artists.

Two Bronze Peacocks

Being restored thanks to the generosity of Mr. Surovek, Florida Chapter

These famous peacocks come from a small group of bronze objects which survived the days when many ancient bronze pieces were melted down and used for military and construction purposes. The origin of these unique pieces dates back to a codex from the XI century, now in Eton, where they are depicted as an elegant decoration ornamenting the façade of the old St. Peter’s Basilica. This prestigious location is possibly an invention of the medieval illustrator, nonetheless it testifies to the importance of these peacocks in the Middle Ages. However, trustworthy historical sources indicate that since the middle of the XII century, these peacocks adorned the “Cantaro del Paradiso," which was a fountain located at the entrance of the ancient Basilica of Saint Peter for the ablutions of the pilgrims. In the “Mirabilia Urbis Romae,” a chronicle from the middle of the XII century, the author states that twelve bronze peacocks were displayed in front of the gates of Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Their excellent craftsmanship, shown by the minute rendering of every detail, namely the feathers, suggests that they were most likely showcased in the plush garden holding the tomb of the Emperor. After being stolen during the siege of Federico Barbarossa, these peacocks were redisplayed before Hadrian’s Mausoleum in 1200 under the Pontificate of Innocent III and remained there until the XVI century, serving as wonderful subjects of many drawings of that time. When the construction of the new façade of St. Peter's began, the Cantaro was dismantled and the peacocks (along with the large pinecone now adorning the Niche in the Cortile della Pigna, Vatican Museums) moved to the Vatican. After undergoing repair during the pontificate of Pope Clemens the XI Albani in 1704, the two peacocks were placed on the sides of the pinecone at the center of the large niche constructed by Pirro Ligorio. They remained in this location until 1986 when they were moved in the Braccio Nuovo for conservation purposes. Today there are two copies that are in place of the originals on either side of the pinecone.

Heracle and Oceanus

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Pennsylvania Chapter

Heracle This impressive statue was property of the D’Este family and located in Villa D’Este, Tivoli, between 1572 and the end of the XVIII century when it became part of the Vatican collection. Since 1907 this statue has been located in the centrally and much visited “Cortile della Pigna”. Heracles is represented lying upon a dead lion skin (the Lion Nemeo that he killed in his first enterprise) with a club in his right hand. This statue of Heracles is an ancient copy of an original Greek statue made by the sculptor Skopas, which dates back to the IV century B.C. Oceanus This colossal statue was originally located in the Barberini Villa of Castel Gandolfo. In 1832 it was bought by the Camuccini brothers for the Chiaramonti Museum and is now located in the southern side of the “Cortile della Pigna”, one of the most crowded and popular places of the Vatican Museums. This sculpture represents the god Oceanus lying on a bed of stones. Part of his back is leaning against a pillow made of waves. Two dolphins are the ornaments of his crown.

Opening and Exhibit of Roman Necropolis of the Via Trionfale in Vatican City

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Canada Chapter

In 2003 during the construction of a new parking lot within Vatican City brought to light a Roman necropolis with a immense number of archaeological treasures dating from the 1st B.C. - 4th Century A.D to the periods of Augustus and Constantine. Some of these present interesting fresco, stucco and mosaic decoration. The immediate intervention of the Vatican Museum’s archaeological team enabled the discovery of over forty family burial niches as well as a number of individual tombs, all in a well preserved state. Funerary altars, sarcophagi (one of which with Christian iconography) and a large number of inscriptions rich in information on the population buried here. Among these are buried servants, nobles, but also free men, even a cavalier. On some tombs the place or origin and employment of the defunct is specified, offering us an exceptional account of their daily life. Also of great importance are the lanterns used in funerary rituals still in place on top or to the side of the tombs, as well as the hooks for the funerary wreaths over the altars. This magnificent archaeological excavation will be opened to the public next Fall and it will be possible to visit the site by request. The site has been housed within the edifice of the new parking garage and is considered one of the most important areas of the necropolis that extended from the Vatican Hill (the Colle Vaticano) along the Via Trionfale that from Veio arrived to the city of Rome. The importance of this site is second only to the necropolis below St. Peter’s Basilica with the tomb of St. Peter. This project entails the set-up of steel walkways and ramps for public access as well as a lighting system, glass cases, structures to display lapidary objects, didactic panels and a video illustration of the excavations. In addition, a grandiose campaign to restore the sepulchral monuments and lapidary stones is predicted. Thanks to the Patrons from Canada, we will be able to gain a more profound appreciation of our ancestors.