Cast of section of architrave, late 18th century/early 19th century

From: Forum Transitorium, Rome

RA Collection: Art

On free display in The Dorfman Architecture Court

The cast is of the architrave of the portico of the Forum Transitorium or Forum of Nerva which still stands in situ today. The Forum was essentially an enlargement of the road perpendicular to the Roman Forum (thus Transitorium). It was begun and mainly finished by the Emperor Domitian, but officially dedicated by the Emperor Nerva in AD 97. There is a figure of Minerva, also called Pallas, which decorates the attic of the in situ elements and so the ruins were referred to as the Temple of Pallas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The architrave shows ornamental detail which includes full leaves which was typlical of the Flavian (later 1st century) monuments in Rome. It is also similar in style to that of the Temple of Divine Vespasian. The cast was acquired by the Royal Academy from Thomas Lawrence whose collection was sold on 10 May 1830. It was on display on the wall in the studios of the Royal Academy Schools from 1880 to 2003.