Lego Fun, Vol. XXII: The Arch of Titus

[Julius Germanicus]

The famous Arch of Titus was constructed in ca-81 AD by Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus´ consecration and the victory of Titus, together with his father Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea:

 

My arch, modelled in 1:50 scale, retains the now lost quadriga and the original inscription,

SENATVS - POPVLVSQVE·ROMANVS - DIVO·TITO·DIVI·VESPASIANI·F - VESPASIANO·AVGVSTO

that was on the front side replaced in 1821 by a new one referring to the restoration by Pope Pius VII:

INSIGNE · RELIGIONIS · ATQVE · ARTIS · MONVMENTVM - VETVSTATE · FATISCENS - PIVS · SEPTIMVS · PONTIFEX · MAX - NOVIS · OPERIBVS · PRISCVM · EXEMPLAR · IMITANTIBVS - FVLCIRI · SERVARIQVE · IVSSIT - ANNO · SACRI · PRINCIPATVS · EIVS · XXIIII  :

 

The Arch of Titus has inspired numerous modern works, including, most famously, the Arc de Triomphe de l´Etoile in Paris, but also at least a dozen other archs around the world.

 

Finally, to keep this post coin related, here is my humble only Sestertius of Titus (the Flavians have always been a weak spot of my collection):

IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR P PP COS VIII - Laureate head of Titus left
ANNONA AVG - Annona standing left, holding statue of Aequitas and cornucopia; in left field modius with corn ears; in right field stern of cargo ship, decorated with a goose neck
Sestertius, Rome 79-81 a.D.
33 mm / 18,91 gr
RIC 86 / 137; BMCRE 153; Cohen 15 (but without S C), Cayon 2
ex Professor M. Caselli Collection

 

Have a great Sunday around the world, feel free to post anything relevant, or let me know if you know anything about Professor M. Caselli !

 

[Limes]

Another beautiful creation! And a lovely coin to accompany the arch. (Unfortunately, I don't know anything about M. Caselli.)

The only thing I can add are these photo's of the arch from our trip to Rome in 2015. Even in ruins, the Forum, Palatine hill and colosseum are more then impressive. 

[Spaniard]

@Julius Germanicus..Another great construction!..Really enjoy seeing your creations...Do you keep them?

Ps....Isn't a quadriga 4 horses?

Edited January 22 by Spaniard

[hotwheelsearl]

@Julius Germanicus, have you ever thought about making some instructions and selling these as kits? I know many folks who would easily pay high dollars for these!

[JeandAcre]

Magnificent, @Julius Germanicus.  I can cheerfully second @hotwheelsearl --he has to be right.  ...Wondering what, if anything, would surface regarding patents.

...And I'm really curious: where do you get the parts with the inscriptions, replete with the unmistakable, iconic Roman lettering?

[CPK]

Astonishing LEGO project, @Julius Germanicus!

[Julius Germanicus]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:05 PM, Spaniard said:

@Julius Germanicus..Another great construction!..Really enjoy seeing your creations...Do you keep them?

Ps....Isn't a quadriga 4 horses?

Thanks! I did dismantle the arch of Severus at Leptis Magna and the Theatre of Marcellus, but the rest of my Lego ancient Rome is still around and crowding my living room right now 😝

Yes, literally a quadriga would of course be 4 horses only, but (apart from the 2 horse biga) there reportedly were chariots drawn by 6 (seiugai), 8 (octoiugae), and even 10 (decimiugae) horses also. 

As far as I know there are no remnants left of most quadrigae to enable us to comprehend the number or position of the horses, so I took the artistic freedom to add two ponys to the usual four because I think it looks more regal 😁. One day I should try Elephants 😛

Here is an example of a chariot drawn by six horses on the triumphal arch of the general staff in St. Petersburg: