The discovery/2

This connection between water and maternal figure was probably the reason behind the fortune of this group, that was considered the ideal decoration for monumental nymphaeums. It is very likely that also the Florentine Niobids, as well as the group that used to decorate the Nymphaeum-Stadium of Villa Adriana or the one of the Horti Sallustiani, were originally placed in a hemicycle fountain erected in the area of the ancient Horti Lamiani, the remains of which were brought to light in the 19th-century excavations on the Esquiline Hill in the area of today’s Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. Therefore, the Florentine group would have been part of the decoration of a nymphaeum built inside one of the vast parks owned by the emperor that encircled the Western side of the centre of Rome, and in which the statues would have been arranged following the outline of the structure, with the group of Niobe and her younger daughter placed in the centre.

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Il cosiddetto Auditorium di Mecenate (esempio di Ninfeo), I secolo d. C.

Stories about the collection and creation of the Niobe Room/1

The exceptional discovery in the vineyard of the Tomassini brothers immediately attracted the interest of the main Roman collectors of that period, who competed fiercely to obtain these sculptures. As proved by the recently found contract of sale, the winner was Ferdinando de’ Medici, who managed to secure all the statues in 1584 after a year of negotiations by paying the enormous sum of 1600 scudi. The marbles, quickly restored and integrated, were placed in the gardens of Villa Medici on the Pincian Hill, where they remained for almost two centuries. During this first arrangement, one of the sculptures of the original group, the so-called “elder son” or “second Niobid”, was replaced by an antique replica in a better state of preservation already present in Ferdinando's collection (see file). Immortalized in the first half of the 17th century by Francois Perrier's prints, for a long time the Niobe group used to be one of the must-see attractions for every important tourist who visited Rome, and it was only with great difficulty that the Grand Duke Peter Leopold was able to obtain permission from Pope Clement XIV to move the group to Florence.

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Francois Perrier, stampa, prima metà del XVII secolo, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe degli Uffizi

Stories about the collection and creation of the Niobe Room/3

The statue of the second son is one of the four “duplicates” of the sculptures of Niobe's sons already present in the Grand Duke's collections, where they had arrived through different collecting routes. This sculpture is reproduced in a drawing attributed to Marten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), currently preserved in Auckland, New Zealand, and dated to the first half of the 16th century, at least thirty years before the discovery of the Tomassini vineyard. It is very likely that the presence on the drawing of the writing “Lavale” has to be interpreted as an indication that the marble originally belonged to Cardinal Andrea Della Valle, whose collection passed largely into the hands of Ferdinando de’ Medici. It’s interesting to note that also a second Niobid figure that was the replica of a sculpture from the Tomassini vineyard, the Niobid falling on his left knee (inv. 1914 No. 290), is assumed to come from the same collection.

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Marten van Heemskerck, attr. (1498-1574), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland, Nuova Zelanda

Stories about the collection and creation of the Niobe Room/4

Despite not being part of the group of the Tomassini vineyard, the statue is an integral part of the fortune of these sculptures in the artistic and antiquarian culture of the 17th and 18th centuries. As a matter of fact, this was the replica that had been immortalized in Perrier's prints and this was the marble that had been admired by all those visitors and scholars, including Johan Joachim Winckelmann, who visited the gardens of Villa Medici. When the group was placed at the Uffizi, the statue was replaced with the replica found in the Tomassini vineyard, a singular choice to say the least, considering that the latter was in a much worse state of preservation. The replica then passed to the collections of the Royal Archaeological Museum of Florence in 1880.

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Secondo Niobide, Museo Archeologico di Firenze

Stories about the collection and creation of the Niobe Room/5

The occasion offered by this exhibition was a chance to reunite the group from the Tomassini vineyard with one of the sculptures originally found there, but then discarded when the marbles were staged at the Uffizi. It’s the figure of a kneeling Niobid maiden, also known by the name Psyche, that in the gardens of Villa Medici on the Pincian Hill was still displayed with her companions. The decision to replace it in Florence with a replica of the type already present in the Grand Duke's collections and characterized by a better state of preservation, had already been taken in Rome. In fact, the Niobid of the Tomassini vineyard was not sent with the other sculptures in 1770, but it only arrived in 1788, with the last shipment of marbles from the Roman villa to Florence. Therefore, from the very first moment, the Niobe room hosted the replica which is still visible today (inv. 1914 No. 305), while traces of the statue from the Tomassini vineyard have been lost since its arrival in the Tuscan capital. The marble, deprived of all Renaissance additions, re-appeared only in the 1920s in the centre of the large cloister of Santa Maria Novella, from where, following the 1966 flood, it was taken to the Bardini Museum, where the statue is currently preserved.

Image:
Niobide inginocchiata o “Psiche”, Museo Stefano Bardini, Firenze

The sculptural group

Late Republican Age - Early Augustan Age, restorations and adaptations of the Middle Imperial Age
Marble sculptures from Aphrodisias (city quarries)
Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor

The sculptural group of the Niobids preserved at the Sanctuary of Hercules Victor in Tivoli was found during preventive archaeological excavations at Muri dei Francesi in Ciampino, in a large ornamental basin near the thermal area of an ancient villa. The dating of the discovery has been set in a rather broad chronological span between the end of the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD.

The myth they represent is well known from ancient sources, particularly Ovid (Ovid, Metamorphoses, VI, 146-312): Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, married Amphion, the king of Thebes, and with him, according to different traditions, she sired twelve or fourteen children between boys and girls. Among the many reasons for hubris, she had pride for her offspring. This sentiment prompted Niobe to interrupt the ceremonies for goddess Latona, mocking her for giving birth only to the twins Artemis and Apollo. Latona, offended, instructed them to avenge her. Therefore, they killed all the Niobids with bow and arrow, leaving only the mother alive, who in grief was turned into a stone from which water kept dripping in an eternal weeping.

Although the superficial degradation of the statues caused by the environment in which they were found doesn’t allow a detailed stylistic analysis, it was possible to assume that they were the replica produced by a workshop, probably Rhodian, in the mid-1st century BC of a sculptural group created over time and formed at least in the mid-2nd century BC.

The staging hypothesized at the time of the discovery must have been of great impact: with extreme visual and conceptual synthesis, the sculptures described at the same time the themes of the slaughter of the children and the petrification of the mother. Niobe, which in all probability was placed on a plinth in the centre so as to remain fixed in the stone, ideally fed the pool with her tears, in a play of cross-references between the works and the context.

The statues might have been rearranged around the pool at the time of its restoration, during the first half of the 2nd century AD, as suggested by the technical characteristics and different sizes of the figures, probably originally intended for a perspective arrangement within structures such as niches or exedras, which were absent in the context of the discovery. Ancient interventions on the statues, likely to be connected to a reassembly, are indicated by the presence among the excavated materials of limbs and other sculptural fragments compatible with the mutilated figures and presumably pertaining to them, but made of different marbles.

The number of statues fluctuates between a minimum of 13 and a maximum of 15, considering the varying number of Niobe's daughters and sons according to the sources and hypothesizing the absence of the figure of the pedagogue, which appears in the similar group found in the 16th century in the Tomassini vineyard in Rome, currently preserved at the Uffizi, of which there was no trace in the excavation of Muri dei Francesi; the same goes for the twins Apollo and Artemis. At the moment, seven statues are almost complete, two of which originally pertaining to groups of two figures, as well as two heads.

Chiaramonti Niobid

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. (with base) cm 187; base dim. max. cm 80x46.

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153202

This statuary type, which is also replicated in the Florentine group, is called “Chiaramonti” after the eponymous specimen, probably found at Villa Adriana in the second half of the 18th century and preserved today in the Vatican collections. A new aspect present in the Ciampino replica is the caption in Greek on the right side of the base, in capital letters except for the initial omega, which indicates the maiden's name, “ΩΓΥΓΙΑ” (Ogygia), that was also known from the sources. With respect to the state of preservation, the sculpture is missing its right arm and left hand, which were worked separately as shown by the pin slots visible on the joints. The head has been relocated by reintegrating part of the neck and the bun of the hair.

Fugitive Niobid (also known as Elder Daughter)

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. (with base) cm 180; base dim. max. cm 82x40

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153205

The so-called Fugitive Niobid reproduces a prototype also found among the group from the Tomassini vineyard. This statue should be imagined as an ideal counterpoint to the “Chiaramonti” Niobid, with which it shares the age of the maiden that is represented, the act of surprise and the marked gestures. The sculpture is missing both forearms, while there are signs that the left hand must have been holding a flap of the cloak. The left shoulder has been reassembled. The base is chipped and particularly worn on the right side (of the viewer).

Falling Niobid (also known as Psyche)

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. (con base) cm 104; base cm 65x40

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153200

The so-called “falling” Niobid or “Psyche” is inspired by a statuary prototype of which were found two other replicas. The first one, incomplete, was found in the Tomassini vineyard; the second, on the other hand, belongs to the Medici collections and was used to replace the other when the group was transferred to Florence. On the statue found in Ciampino, it’s still possible to see the entrance hole of the arrow that strikes the maiden on her right breast. With respect to the state of preservation, the sculpture is headless, missing the left forearm and a large part of the right arm. The base is chipped and severely worn.

Kneeling Niobid (already part of the group with the so-called Elder Brother)

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. (with base) cm 106; base cm 67x40.

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n.153204

The so-called “kneeling” Niobid, that was not present among the statues of the Niobe group found in the Tomassini vineyard, formed a group with the so-called “Elder Brother”, which instead was found in the Florentine group (inv. 302). The group consisting of the two figures is preserved entirely legible in a replica found in the area of the Horti di Cesare, currently preserved in the Vatican Museums. In the specimen from Ciampino, the brother's left hand resting on his sister's left shoulder is still visible, as well as the hole of the arrow stuck under her right breast. The sculpture is headless and missing a large part of the right arm. The base is chipped and severely worn. Of the brother who supported her, it remains only the left hand over the figure's left shoulder.

Niobid variant of the so-called Second Son of the Uffizi group

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. (with base) cm 182; base dim. max. cm 70x90

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153203

The sculpture found in Ciampino refers to the statuary prototype of the so-called “second son”, which was discovered thanks to a replica from the Tomassini vineyard, (inv. 304) and to a second copy already present among the Medici collections (inv. MAF 13864). Some substantial differences, such as the position of the head and the arrangement of the mantle over the shoulders and left arm, suggest that the Ciampino marble should be a variant of the model known from the two Florentine sculptures. With respect to the state of preservation, the sculpture is missing large parts of the right arm, right leg and left foot. The lower part of the left leg has been reassembled. The base is missing.

Niobid in the act of climbing a rock, variant of the so-called diagonal Figure of the Uffizi group

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. (with base) cm 200. Base dim. max. cm 86x40

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153206

The marble from Ciampino re-proposes, with some variations, the “Niobid in the act of climbing a rock” or “third son”, present in Florence with two replicas. The first one (inv. 306) was found in the Tomassini vineyard and the second (inv. 291) was already present in the Grand Duke's collections. The head of the statue that is currently in Tivoli was relocated according to the model of the two Florentine copies. The statue is missing its right arm and left hand. The head was relocated only with functional integration of the neck by means of a tubular support.

Group with Niobid lying down, supported by a brother

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

max. cm 95x50

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153201

The reconstruction of the iconographic scheme of this group, which constitutes an absolute novelty for the Niobids pertaining to the Uffizi group, was almost immediate, while its reorganization required a lengthy reflection and skilful restoration work: it represents a dying child, lying supine, struck by an arrow at the base of the neck, with his body curved over his brother's bent leg. All that remains of the figure of the brother is the knee pointing behind the back and his two hands, one behind the boy's head and the other under one of his shoulders. With respect to the state of preservation, the sculpture is missing most of the arms and left leg, as well as the right leg from the knee upwards. The work has been reassembled from three large fragments.

Recumbent Niobid head

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. cm 23

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153207

Differently from the Niobids group currently preserved at the Uffizi, which presents a male child while he’s lying down, the Ciampino group must have presented at least one lying female figure, similarly to what has been found with the coloured marble group discovered in the so-called Garden-Stadium of Villa Adriana.

Niobe’s head

Second half of the 1st century BC

Aphrodisias marble

h. cm. 34

Provenance: excavation in the area of Muri dei Francesi, Ciampino (Rome), 2012

Tivoli, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute, Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, inv. n. 153210

This woman's head, bigger than human size, pertained to a statue over two metres high that could only be representing Niobe. It was possible to establish the proportions of the group to which this fragment pertained thanks to the Florentine replica, which, together with a second copy found at Villa dei Quintili on the Appian Way, constitute the best-preserved available reproductions of this spectacular sculpture. With respect to its state of preservation, the statue is made of a single block of marble with the head fractured just below the chin. The dimensions allow us to assume that it pertained to a sculpture with a total height of about 2 metres.

Niobidi fiorentini

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Niobidi delle VILLÆ 

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Niobe and her children in the mirror

Hypervision created by the Uffizi Galleries and Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este - VILLÆ,