CIMRM 335 - Tauroctony of Ottavio Zeno. Rome, now lost.


From: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, [A104], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

From: TMMM II Fig. 63.

From BNF via Twitter: "Thesaurus Hieroglyphicorum" (S.l., S.d.): "bas-reliefs avec scène de sacrifice d'un boeuf", at BNF here.

The two marble "tablets", from the Louvre.

An old but extremely well-known relief, now lost. TMMM indicates that it was of terracotta, but in fact it must have been of marble.

First published by Lafreri, Speculum romanae magnificentiae, 1564. A drawing of the monument may be found in the papers of Pighius, held at Berlin, Ms. lat. A. 61 f. The TMMM figure 63 is a photo-reduction of Montfaucon's drawing.

Chicago entry

Caption: Hac vetusta marmorea tabula, quae Romae in aedibus Octaviani Zeno prope theatrum Pompeii I campum Florae extat, hisce signis ornata, veteres, veteres rerum naturalium periti optimi agricolae munus significare volerunt. Qui assiduo labore, die noctuque, tribus solis, quattuor lunae stationibus, et naturali utrusque sideris cursu observatis, fortitudine, providentia, fide, et diligentia, terram fatigando rem agranam tractat et proinde carum frugum quae lucis I tenebrarum tempore creantur, oriuntur, excolunturque uberrimum pioventum fert.

Translation: By this ancient marble picture, decorated with these images, which exists in the house of Octavian Zeno in the Floran field near the theatre of Pompeii the Great, ancient farmers, the most skilled and noblest, wished to show the gifts of natural things. He who manages the farmed property by overcoming the land, through constant labor, night and day, through the three watches of the sun and four of the moon, through fortitude, providence, faith, and diligence and hence he bears the most fertile and beloved of the fruits which are created, cultivated, and born at once into the light from the darkness.

Signature: Antonii Lafrerii Sequani formeis Anno. DLXIII
Location (creation): Rome
Measurements: 41.0 x 27.3 cm plate mark on 40.2 x 26.0 cm
References: L-A v.2, p.352, ad a. 1564
Techniques: Engraving

CIMRM entry


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