Gallery: ‘Roman in the Provinces’ at Yale University Art Gallery

‘Roman in the Provinces: Art on the Periphery of Empire’ at Yale University Art Gallery focuses on objects from far-flung reaches of the Roman Empire. The array of objects on display, which spans mosaic, ceramic, sculpture, glass, textiles, coins and jewellery, exemplifies how local tradition fused productively with Roman imperial culture in the Empire’s peripheral provinces.

The objects have been drawn from the gallery’s collection of Roman and Byzantine art, complemented by important loans from Princeton University Art Museum, the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Material culture proves an illuminating lens through which to explore the complexities of provincial identities, challenging our tendency to envisage the Roman Empire solely in terms of toga-clad statues and marble amphitheaters.

Click on any of the images below to open the slideshow.

‘Roman in the Provinces’ is at Yale University Art Gallery from 22 August 2014–4 January 2015.