Bronze camillus (acolyte), Roman, 14-54 CE, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

Bronze camillus (acolyte), Roman, 14-54 CE, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
As soon as he took power, the emperor Augustus set in motion a program aimed at restoring the time-honored values of virtue, honor, and piety. Religious cults were revived, temples were built, public ceremonies and sacrifices filled the calendar. Men of every rank chose to be portrayed in the act of pious sacrifice. The popular type of sculpture seen here showed young boys who served as acolytes at religious ceremonies. The identification of this figure as a camillus, an attendant at sacrifices who was chosen from the noblest families, is based on comparisons with other stages and reliefs, most notably those of the famous monument, the Ara Pacis of Augustus. According to Roman tradition, a camillus had to be below the age of puberty, and both parents must be alive. This statue may have been dedicated at a sanctuary by the boy’s parents, in recognition of his service to the gods. Alternatively, its refined decorative qualities may signal its use as an adornment within a religious precinct, for instance in a dining room for priests.


Image: Bronze camillus (acolyte), Roman, 14-54 CE courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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