Campana relief depicting palaestra with statues of athletes
- Rome, the 1st c. BC. – the 1st c. A.D.
- Inv. АТ 3700
- Clay, slip, paints
- H. 30,8 cm.
- Conservator: L.V. Levko, 2004
In ancient Italy and Rome from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century A.D. it was customary to decorate buildings with terracotta reliefs with different scenes - first only on the outside and later indoors. They were named after their first collector and researcher, the Marquis Giampietro Campana. Mythological, symbolic and genre scenes were assembled in shared belts. This relief with a rare and remarkable scene depicts a Greek palaesta (athletic training ground), enclosed by temples and set with monuments of victorious athletes. In the center is a statue of Hercules wearing a lion's skin and holding a club. On the sides: on the left - the figures of the fist fighters; on the right - the winners in competitions, in them we can recognize masterpieces of Greek sculptors - Apoxyomenos by Lysippus (the athlete scraping the sand off the body) and Diadumenos by Polykleitos (the athlete crowning himself with a victory ribbon). The relief was subtly coloured with red and yellow paints.
Conservation
The relief is glued together from four large pieces with chipped edges and damages. The painting was concealed under a layer of dirt. The fronton and shapes along the top edge were lost.