print
- Museum number
- 1874,0808.591
- Title
- Object: Obelisco nel giardino del S Ciriaco Mattei
- Description
-
Egyptian obelisk in the garden of Ciriaco Mattei on the Celian Hill. c.1587-1590
Etching
- Production date
- 1587-1590
- Dimensions
-
Height: 210 millimetres
-
Width: 155 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- See comment for 1874,0808.589. This obelisk originally came from Heliopolis and is the twin of the one outside the Pantheon. It was erected on Capitol Square in the Middle Ages but subsequently fell and for many years acted as a step at the entrance to the convent of S. Maria in Ara Coeli. In 1582 a nobleman called Ciriaco Mattei had it erected in the gardens of his villa on the Celian Hill. A story relates how a workman had his hand crushed during the raising of the obelisk; Ciriaco Mattei kept him and his family in comfort for the rest of his life.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1874
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1874,0808.591