Front of a funerary altar for a 10-year old boy

            This funerary altar is for 10-year old Gaius Petronius Ligur Virianus Postumus, set up by his grandfather, Deciumus Valerius Niceta. It shows Gaius as an adult, perhaps an eques on horseback. A future that would never happen.

The equites were part of the Roman upper class, second only to the senatorial order, which consisted of the members of the senate that governed the Roman Republic and remained an elite aristocracy in the later Roman Empire.

The equites are often referred to as knights, as their name and place in society recall the elite horsemen of medieval Europe. They are also known as the equestrian order, which is a more literal translation of their Latin title.

It wasn’t unusual for parents - or a grandparent in this case - to portray their son or daughter as an adult. For boys, it was to show how they could have attained glory, for girls, it was to show how they could have become mothers. 

If you’re at the Capitoline Museums and want to see this altar (only its face is preserved), it’s in the Palazzo Nuovo, Room of the Faun, partly behind the statue of a naked boy (or satyr child) playing peekaboo with a mask of Silenus.

1st century CE?

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Taken on: April 28, 2024

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ancient

funerary

equestrian

horse

trabea

wreath

Transvectio equitum

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Musei Capitolini

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Camera: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, f/1.8, 1/50 sec, 6.8mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Lens:	iPhone 15 Pro Max back triple camera 6.765mm f/1.78
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	6.8mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	17.4.1
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