Flaminian Obelisk c. 1820 attributed to Valadier workshop antique specimen marbles with gilded metal mounts 40 x 17 x 17 in L2016.2101.040
First erected by Ramses II in the 13 th century BCE, this obelisk was brought by Emperor Augustus to Rome in 10 BCE. It stood at the center of the Circus Maximus, but was lost for centuries, likely a casualty of the city’s numerous sackings. By 1589, it had been located and excavated from beneath twenty feet of mud. The obelisk’s broken pieces were reassembled, relocated, and finally reinstalled at the center of the Piazza del Popolo in a project commissioned by Pope Sixtus V. This meticulously crafted model is certainly not a tourist’s souvenir. It is too large, too well made, and too inaccurate. Instead, it appears to be an architect’s model of the type proposed for important commissions—presented for the approval of the most important clients. Additionally, the very high level of craft, rich palette of specimen marbles and gilded metal, and decorative design and styling all indicate it was likely made circa 1820 at the direction and in the workshop of Giuseppe Valadier (1762–1839), for presentation to his client, Pope Pius VII, as part of his successful proposal to redesign the piazza.
Ancient Circus of Mars with neighboring monuments viewed from the Via Appia [detail] 1756 Le Antichità Romane III (The Antiquities of Rome, Vol. 3), Plate II Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Mogliano Veneto 1720 – 1778 Rome) etching on laid paper 15 x 23.5 in L2016.2101.035