Historiarch

Renato Natali (italiano, 1893–1979)

«Livorno antiguo», 1930

King with a Stubbled Beard

New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1280 B.C. From Western Thebes Now in the Walters Art Museum. 32.1

▫ A stubbled faced king is a rather peculiar sight in Ancient Egyptian art. Historians suggest the beard is a sign of mourning, growing out a beard is still common practices for mourning in varied cultures around the world until this very day.

French Egyptologist Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt demonstrated that the growth of the natural beard was reserved for times of mourning, specifically between the death of a person and funeral. On the day of the funeral ceremony, it is thought all male attendees shaved, and the official “time of mourning” was concluded. Based upon the features, it is generally agreed the 19th Dynasty king depicted is Seti I.

Apollo with a raven and Artemis with a deer

Gold wreath with detached stem including leaves and berries

Greek, Hellenistic Period, 300-100 B.C.

The Ara Pacis Augustae

The Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to Ara Pacis) is an altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hispania and Gaul and consecrated on January 30, 9 BC. Originally located on the northern outskirts of Rome, a Roman mile from the boundary of the pomerium on the west side of the Via Flaminia, the Ara Pacis stood in the northeastern corner of the Campus Martius, the former flood plain of the Tiber River and gradually became buried under 4 metres (13 ft) of silt deposits. It was reassembled in its current location, now the Museum of the Ara Pacis, in 1938, turned 90° counterclockwise from its original orientation so that the original western side now faces south.

Greek cosmetic vase with a ram's head

6th century BCE

Upper Part of the Great Portico, Esna by Francis Bedford

English, dated March 15, 1862

albumen print mounted on card