Apoteosi privata in un rilievo funerario da un sepolcro della via Appia

In the Museo della via Appia there are two fragments of Pentelic marble with figured relief, originating from the via Appia. Represented on slab A are a probably female figure capite velato, two regal peacocks and a figure whose mantle forms an arc in the pattern of the velificatio; on slab B is the upper part of a female figure crowned by an erote in flight, holding a torch in her left hand. The two scenes, due to the extremely faded surface and the incompleteness of the figures, are difficult to interpret. The figures, some iconographic motifs and the attributes refer to the funerary sphere with meanings that evoke the glorification of the deceased. The pair of peacocks, symbols of immortality and rebirth, highlight an eschatological value, suggesting a theme related to the private apotheosis of the deceased. The technical-stylistic characteristics and the compositional structure date them back to a time between the late Republican and Augustan ages. The curvature of the slabs reveals their relation to a circular funerary monument.