Fustration when i did the research, relocation from all this obilisks...
byMarcus
....sorry stay calm
The relocation of Egyptian obelisks to ancient Rome was a common undertaking first endeavored by Caesar Augustus. But just what did these monoliths of antiquity represent to the Romans?
Jun 2, 2021 • By Michael Arnold, BA Art History, MA Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology
Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde, Paris, via Pixabay.com
“Cleopatra’s Needle,” which was finally relocated to New York,
standing in Alexandria, Francis Frith, ca. 1870, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Piazza Navona, Gaspar van Wittel, 1699, Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum
Caligula’s ship at port by Jean-Claude Golvin, via jeanclaudegolvin.com
The Circus Maximus at the time of Constantius II, Jean-Claude Golvin, via jeanclaudegolvin.com
The erection of Constantine’s Obelisk in Rome, Jean-Claude Golvin, via jeanclaudegolvin.com
Roman temple complex with Egyptian obelisks, Jean-Claude Golvin, via jeanclaudegolvin.com
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The Romans had such an appetite for obelisks that they not only took them from Egypt, but also carved new ones. They used Egyptian granite, including the especially popular pinkish stone from the quarries at Aswan in the far south. It is unclear whether the obelisks were shipped to Rome in a partially carved state—to be finished by a Roman sculptor—or fully carved and inscribed in Egypt and then exported to Rome. Some Roman obelisks were left uninscribed, while others have legible hieroglyphic inscriptions that could be either copies of existing Egyptian texts or new compositions. They were typically made on a smaller scale than Egyptian obelisks, the largest surviving example of which is over 32 meters tall (brought to Rome from Egypt, it can be found near the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran). One of the tallest Roman obelisks (16.5 meters) was placed atop Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome’s Piazza Navona in 1651.
The Fountain of Four Rivers, Piazza Navona, Rome, 1650,
Louis Rouhier, printmaker. Etching and engraving, 49.3 x 37.2 cm.
The Getty Research Institute, Anna Laetitia Pecci-Blunt print collection of views of Rome, P850003. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
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