I was in Toronto from Friday until last night visiting my son at the U. of Toronto, and thought I'd post some photos I took of sculptures and coins, mostly at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). First, though, one photo from the Lillian Malcove Collection at the U. of Toronto Art Museum -- a Byzantine steelyard weight in the form of an unidentified empress: Next, photos of sculptures and other non-coin objects from the ROM. (We went twice -- once on Saturday to see the Chinese and other Asian art, and once on Sunday for the Ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art. I took photos only on Sunday.) A glazed brick wall relief of a striding lion from the palace's ceremonial hall in Babylon during the neo-Babylonian period (605-562 BCE), from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II: A bust of Cleopatra: Septimius Severus and Faustina the Younger: Septimius Severus alone: Lucius Verus: Another angle of Lucius Verus: Faustina the Elder: Tiberius: An unidentified Julio-Claudian prince: More to come.
Unidentified: The line of busts as a group: A relief showing a delivery to a shopkeeper: A sleeping Cupid: A relief showing gladiators: Another Byzantine steelyard weight, this one in the form of Athena: Images of the coin collection to follow
Unfortunately, it's not possible in most of the photos I took of the ROM's coin collection to see the individual coins very clearly. So I'm posting these photos of their Roman coins mostly to give an idea of the extent of the collection. Macrinus misspelled as Marcrinus: More to come.
Great pics so far, love the Faustina Jr. & Lucilla gold coins, they look very pretty in the photos. Amusing the Otho is a tetradrachm then an imperial portrait issue.
My main disappointment with the ROM: they have no guidebook, and haven't published a general book about their collections since 1963!* It's the only major museum I've been to that I can think of -- and I've been to many! -- that doesn't have any kind of guidebook. * Heinrich, T. A. (1963). Art treasures in the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart.
Very nice... I live about 90 minutes away and haven't been to the ROM for many years. I think I will plan a trip when the weather turns. Thank you for posting.
Great pics Donna, it's great to see some great Roman culture outside Italy, looks like a fantastic museum.
@DonnaML I know they no longer sell it, but about 10 years ago I purchased a book that catalogued their collection of Roman Republican coins (which at the time were not yet on display as the Roman gallery was not in existence). I don't have it on me but I'm pretty sure it's called "Roman Republican Coins at the ROM", it's a little blue book. Other than that, I don't think there are any publications on their collections. They do, however, have a significant number of coin photographs and identifications on the ROM collections website. Update: I found it on the ROMs website, but it does not appear to be available anymore. I'm assuming you could probably find it on Amazon or ebay. https://www.rom.on.ca/en/node/6594
Thanks for the pics, Donna! I've wanted to go to the ROM for a really long time, but never seem to make it down that way. Erin
Thanks! As far as I was able to see, their collection of Roman Republican coins still isn't on display (other than the one photo I posted of their early Republican coins). Of course, it's entirely possible that I simply missed it. If so, next time!
Thanks for the photos. I have not been to the ROM for a few months. I will have to go again. It is a wonderful place to visit.
thanks for sharing! I have a weight that is similar to your first pic, a Byzantine Empress Steelyard Weight. I found about a dozen examples on the internet. A book on the subject was in the Rice Library. I ordered a book that catalogs 75 similar weights. I am hoping to visit the museum.
I took those two photos specifically because I remembered your posts about the one you bought, and thought you might appreciate them! This past weekend is actually the first time I remember seeing any examples of such weights -- perhaps I just never noticed them before. They're really quite interesting.