ALT FRAGMENT OF A NILOTIC EMBLEMA FROM THE ASÀROTOS ÒIKOS, EARLY C2 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS A highly detailed early C2 CE Roman mosaic fragment of a Nilotic landscape, now mounted vertically on a wall in the Museo Gregoriano Profano. The scene features three wading birds—including an ibis and a duck—standing on uneven ground around a small, stylized tree. The central image is bounded by an original ancient mosaic frame, consisting of an inner geometric band resembling colourful gemstones and an outer band of black vine scrolls on a white background. Originally, this was a surviving piece of the central emblema of a dining room floor excavated on the Aventine Hill in 1833. While the famous "unswept floor" border of this room is set into the museum floor elsewhere, this central fragment is displayed separately in the entrance vestibule.

ALT SARCOPHAGUS WITH EROTES CARRYING THE ARMS OF ACHILLES, C. 160 CE. MUSEO PIO-CLEMENTINO, VATICAN MUSEUMS A deeply carved Antonine marble sarcophagus, found in 1776 in the Vigna Moroni along the via di Porta S. Sebastiano, whose excavated finds were soon bought by Pius VI Braschi. The high relief features a swarm of Erotes struggling under the weight of military gear. In their role as divine assistants, they are aiding Thetis in transporting the newly-forged arms of Achilles after Patroclus was killed wearing the originals. Two larger Erotes hold up the central shield, decorated with a Gorgoneion meant to strike fear into enemies. Beneath, a tiny Eros wrestles a satyr. This is a classic allegory for "Love conquers all," proving Eros can defeat earthly chaos as easily as the Erotes carry the weapons of war. The narrow lid features Erotes with garlands flanking a blank tabula. By wrapping the deceased in the legendary armour of Greek myth, the composition replaces death with heroism.

ALT ROMAN MOSAIC EMBLEMA OF A LEOPARD FROM FALERIO PICENUS, MID-LATE C2 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS A Roman mosaic panel featuring a leopard walking left, depicted with brown and ochre tesserae, framed by a guilloche border. Falerio Picenus was a pristine Roman town until 1777, when Pope Pius VI's excavators arrived to furnish the Museo Pio-Clementino. Stripped from a private domus and cemented into the Scala Simonetti as spolia, this emblema invites reflection. Devoid of Dionysian symbols, the leopard is pure physical threat. Yet, frozen in mosaic, it is utterly tamed. For the Roman diners reclining above it, this apex predator was a conversational set-piece about empire, bringing the wild safely into the domestic sphere. Ultimately, the true predator was not the leopard, but the papal excavators. The homeowners were safe from the beast beneath their feet, but Falerio Picenus had no protection from the C18 diggers who tore the town apart to feed the Vatican collections.

ALT AUGUSTIN-THÉOPHILE QUANTINET. VIEW OF THE COURTYARD OF PALAZZO VARESE, 1821 Here we can see Maderno's simple original project for the courtyard, which he built at the same time as he was finishing his spolia-clad masterpiece, the courtyard of palazzo Mattei di Giove. The columns in the foreground are spolia, probably removed from the atrium of Old St Peter's. The ground is paved in delicate herringbone brick, and the original arch, then topped with two busts and not much else, was flanked by niches containing two of the Varese statues, now dispersed. It must have been lovely to sit in the garden overlooking the Tiber, and watch the fountain. This is what we have lost.

ALT THE VARESE ATHENA, C. 180-190 CE. PALAZZO TORLONIA This magnificent statue hints at what was lost from palazzo Varese when in 1876 its owners at the time, the Calabresi Talenti family, decided to sell the statues that had been in the building for 200 years and more. The buyers were the Torlonia family, avid "collectors of collections", who had already snapped up the Albani and Giustiniani collections. This statue was known as early as 1524, when it had a different head and an inscription on its base that has now vanished. Its current appearance is due to C19 restorations, including the head and neck, the top of the tree, the owl, her forearm, and the front of the shield. The heavily-draped white marble statue of Athena is shown against a dark background, wearing a Corinthian helmet and holding a shield, while her hand rests on a gnarled tree trunk coiled by a serpent.

ALT MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS WITH DIONYSUS AND ARIADNE, C. 180-190 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS A Roman marble sarcophagus resting on two carved lion-footed pedestals. The front relief features a continuous narrative dividing his worship into three scenes. On the far left, a young, drunken, nude Dionysus leans on his lover, the boy-satyr Ampelos, as he discovers the sleeping Ariadne, portraying both his homosexual and heterosexual loves. In the bustling centre, a second Dionysus commands the mystery cult; he holds a theatrical mask aloft and cradles a tragic mask in his left arm, symbolising his role as patron of drama, while a panther rears at his feet. Finally, on the far right edge, a third iteration of the god receives offerings. Depicted as a bearded, luxuriously-dressed Dionysus-Sardanapalus type, he represents the sacred cult statues worshipped in temples. This solemn idol provides a sharp theological contrast with the active figures on the left.