Public Approach Front
original east front
Scrolling Acanthus Relief at lower-left
As can be seen in the 1948 diagram below, a significant portion of this relief has survived, including especially well-preserved details of birds, insects, amphibians, other creatures, and richly diverse plant life.
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Scrolling acanthus relief at lower left, below the relief of Pax / Italia / Tellus / Venus, photo July 2008 |
Swan at upper-left of the relief. photo July 2008
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Most of this swan is well preserved. photo July 2008
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"Design of the preserved parts of the decorative floral panel on the left (east)", print by "Ennio Paoloni". This detailed print makes clear which portions of the original relief were incorporated in the 1938 reconstruction. Scanned from Giuseppe Moretti, L'Ara Pacis Augustae; Rome, 2005 (1st ed. 1948), vol.1, fig.121. Courtesy of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome. Reproduced with appreciation. |
Demonstration of an innovative, technically complex color projection to suggest the original colors of the relief. photo May 2010
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Color projected on the swan in photo above to suggest its original colors. photo May 2010
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Insect, possibly a grasshoper, by Arum or Sorghum. Compare similar insect in same location in scrolling acanthus relief at right of doorway. photo May 2010 |
Portions of 2 birds facing each other, on Anum or Sorghum. photo May 2010
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Snail's head and neck reaching upward from its shell. photo May 2010
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Salamander and frog near center of relief, near bottom ledge. photo May 2010
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Scorpion and worm near center of relief, near bottom ledge. The scorpion is largely reconstruced, as described in caption at right. photo May 2010
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Figs. 15, 16 - "Previous interventions. Restorations performed in 1784 by the sculptor Carradori". Left: "(detail of decorative panel below Tellus; in this case the entire figure of the scorpion except the tail and claw feet)." Right: "(detail of the decorative panel below Roma, in this case there are small inserts that appear clearly)." Scanned from Vivian Ruesch and Bruno Zanardi, "L'Intervento di Restauro della Fronte Orientale dell'Ara Pacis Augustae", Ara Pacis Augustae; Rome, 1983, figs.15 & 16. Reproduced with appreciation. |