Monolith stone block with protome of the head of Jupiter-Ammon
A part of a monolith limestone block, part of an altar enclosure. On the front, in the rectangular profiled and fluted aedicule, the head of Jupiter Ammon is chiselled in high relief. There is a double fluted and profiled cornice above the aedicule, with a pulvinus. The cornice and pulvinus are damaged on the left and the right-hand sides. Jupiter Ammon’s head fills the aedicule in the upper part.
The man’s head, with a rounded jaw and chin, is covered in thick hair from which two small, circular curved and flat horns emerge. The hair, at the forehead, is combed into high and rich locks. The large almond-shaped eyes are surmounted by an arch of strong eyebrows, and the wide nose with nostrils and half-opened mouth are connected by the two sides of a dotted moustache. The cheeks and chin are covered in thick wavy curls, partially gently executed using a stone-carving drill in the Aurelian style.
The exact location where this monument was found is not known, but it is believed to be part of the antique heritage of the City of Pula (Forum).
The upper part of the monument, and its base are damaged.
It was previously stored in the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula, but in 1949 it was transferred to the island of Veliki Brijun. Today, the monument is kept in the park opposite the Church of St. German.
The man’s head, with a rounded jaw and chin, is covered in thick hair from which two small, circular curved and flat horns emerge. The hair, at the forehead, is combed into high and rich locks. The large almond-shaped eyes are surmounted by an arch of strong eyebrows, and the wide nose with nostrils and half-opened mouth are connected by the two sides of a dotted moustache. The cheeks and chin are covered in thick wavy curls, partially gently executed using a stone-carving drill in the Aurelian style.
The exact location where this monument was found is not known, but it is believed to be part of the antique heritage of the City of Pula (Forum).
The upper part of the monument, and its base are damaged.
It was previously stored in the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula, but in 1949 it was transferred to the island of Veliki Brijun. Today, the monument is kept in the park opposite the Church of St. German.
Catalogue entry
Monolith stone block with protome of the head of Jupiter-Ammon
Lapidarium, Veliki Brijun
park infront of the Church of Saint German
Roman Empire, 2nd-3rd c.
limestone
135 x 74 x 70 cm
Resources
- Jurkić-Girardi, Vesna. “Ancient cults as patrons of seafaring and seafarers in Istria”. Histria Antiqua 21 (2012): 129-152. no. 7, 138.
- Jurkić-Girardi, Vesna. “Decorazione mitologiche del foro romano di Pola“. Atti di Centro di rischerche storiche 39 (2009): 9-31. 9-31.
- Jurkić-Girardi, Vesna. “Jupiter Amon – the group decoration on the forum in Colonia Pola (Croatia)”. Jurišićev zbornik. Zagreb, 2009: 190-197. 190-197.
- Jurkić-Girardi, Vesna. Duhovna kultura antičke Istre, knjiga I. Zagreb, 2005. 147.
- Selem, Petar. "Aegyptiaca". U: Selem, Petar; Vilogorac Brčić, Inga. ROMIC I. Religionum Orientalium monumenta et inscriptiones ex Croatia I. Zagreb, 2015: 7-62. no. 15, 23-24.
- Selem, Petar. "Jupiter Amon na sjevernom Jadranu". U: Kuntić Makvić, Bruna; Vilogorac Brčić, Inga (ur.). Signa et litterae IV - Zbornik projekta "Mythos - cultos - imagines deorum". Zagreb, 2013. no. 10, 122.
- Starac, Alka. "Forum u Puli". Opuscula archaeologica 20 (1996): 71-89. no. 10, 83.
- Tomorad, Mladen. „The Ancient Egyptian Antiquities in Institutional and Private Collections in Croatia“. U: Tomorad, Mladen (ur.). A History of Research into Ancient Egyptian Culture conducted in Southeast Europe. Oxford, 2015: 31-58. 53, fn. 83.
- Tomorad, Mladen. „The Ancient Egyptian Collections in Croatia and the Project Croato-Aegyptica Electronica“. U: Derriks, Claire (ur.). Collections at risk: New Challenges in a New Environment - Proceedings of the 29th CIPEG Annual Meeting in Brussels, September 25-28, 2012, Royal Museums of Art and History Brussels, Belgium. Atlanta, 2017: 237-268. 259, fn. 86.
- Tomorad, Mladen. Model računalne obrade i prezentacije staroegipatskih predmeta u muzejskim zbirkama u Hrvatskoj. [Doktorska disertacije, Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu]. Zagreb, 2006. 32.
- Tomorad, Mladen. Staroegipatska civilizacija, sv. II: Uvod u egiptološke studije. Zagreb, 2017. 86, fig. 114.
