Journal
ARCHIVES OF NATURAL HISTORY
Volume 49, Issue 2, Pages 259-268Publisher
EDINBURGH UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.3366/anh.2022.0789
Keywords
Bovidae; Cervidae; Gazella cuvieri; Gazella dorcas; Gazella gazella; Gazella subgutturosa subguttorosa; Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli; ungulates; Villa of the Papyri
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Paintings and sculptures depicting gazelles are common in Ancient Roman art, and images of gazelles have been found during archaeological explorations of Herculaneum and Pompeii. However, some of the artworks depicting gazelles have not been correctly identified.
Paintings and sculptures depicting gazelles (Gazella spp.) are frequent in Ancient Roman art. Images of gazelles have been discovered during the archaeological explorations of Herculaneum and Pompeii, devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Two bronze statues of ungulates from the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, now on display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (National Archaeological Museum of Naples), have not been correctly identified, consequently causing erroneous speculation about their cultural significance. The aim of this paper is to suggest which gazelle species inspired these artefacts, and to also discuss the wider context of the artistic representations of gazelles from Herculaneum and Pompeii and their surroundings.
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