As being a friend of the ‘Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden’ in Leiden in the Netherlands I would like to ask your attention for the marvelous exhibition about emperor Domitian in this museum that opened the doors today. If you live in the Netherlands or planning a visit in the next few months, please go to this exhibition. There are many beautiful Flavian statues from around the world and quite a few coins from the Bank of the Netherlands. It’s really worthwhile visiting! Of course I have to add one of my nicest Domitian coins to this thread Domitian, denarius. Rome Mint, 79 AD. RIC 1084, RSC 384. 19mm, 3.13g. Obv. CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS VI, laureate head right. Rev. PRINCEPS IVVENTVTIS, Salus standing right, leaning on column and feeding serpent with patera in hand.
One of the interesting and beautiful statues at the exhibition. A statue with a portrait of Nero that has been changed into Domitian.
and another interesting statue with Domitian as a pharaoh…… It was new that a ruler outside of Egypt was shown as a pharoah.
Not at all! It's stylised to the point of being unrecognisable. Hopefully there was an ancient identity label!
Unrecognizable indeed. His identity cannot be seen from his face but was written in hieroglyphs. That’s what the sign beneath the statue tells us (in Dutch ).
Was it so new? There are many representations of Roman emperors as pharaohs before Domitian. This pharaoh, from a wall of the temple of Kom Ombo, has his names written in the two cartouches: KYSR and TIBRIS, "Caesar Tiberius". It's Tiberius...
I know, but that’s in Egypt. What apparently was new is that this statue stood at the Isis sanctuary in Benevento (in Campanië). This means that for the first time outside of Egypt a statue of a ruler was shown as a pharaoh. Domitian felt a strong connection to Egypt, where pharaohs already had a divine status during their lifetime. This statue makes it clear that Domitian thought he was more than an emperor, namely a god.
Ah OK I did not understand precisely what you meant. There is even more. The obelisk which is now Piazza Navona was commissioned in Egypt by Domitian, and its hieroglyphic inscriptions are in honor of Vespasian, Titus and Domitian "living image of Ra". Domitian as Pharaoh, even in Rome.
Domitian celebrating his success over the Chatti Ar Denarius 85 AD Obv Head right laureate. Rv German woman in attitude of mourning seated right on shield. Below broken spear. RIC 331 3.28 grams 18 mm Photo By W Hansen Though this reverse is frequently encountered on the aurei it is much less common on the denarii. I find this design interesting in that it appears to have been the model for the very similar depiction of Dacia on the coins of Trajan.
