Campana reliefs

Campana reliefs, also called Campana tiles, are ancient decorations made from baked clay by the Romans. They were made from the middle of the first century BC to the first half of the second century AD. These pieces are named after an Italian collector named Giampietro Campana, who first shared them with the world in 1842.

These reliefs were often placed at the top of walls under the roof, or on the edges of roofs, and inside buildings as well. They were made in many copies from the same shape and used to decorate temples, public places, and homes. They were a more affordable way to make beautiful designs compared to carving stone. The ideas shown on these tiles came from myths, religion, everyday life in Rome, nature scenes, and simple designs.

Originally, these tiles were painted in bright colors, but now only a few bits of color can still be seen. Most of them were made near the city of Rome in a place called Latium. There are five main types of these tiles, and today you can see them in many big museums around the world that have collections of Roman art.

History of research

In the 1800s, people found many terracotta reliefs near Rome as they dug around the Mediterranean. At first, they were more interested in metal and marble objects, but they started to notice these tiles too, just like they had started to appreciate Greek vases earlier.

The first person to make these tiles important was marchese Giampietro Campana. He was well-known in archaeology and shared his collection in a book in 1842, which is why they are called Campana reliefs. Later, Campana had trouble for embezzlement, and his collection was sold. Today, it is in museums like the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Hermitage in St Petersburg.

For a long time, these reliefs were not seen as very important because they were made of clay and not stone. But in the early 1900s, people began to study them more. In 1911, two researchers wrote a book about these reliefs and their styles and meanings. After that, interest grew slowly until a thesis in 1968 helped people learn more about these tiles.

Since then, researchers have worked on dating the tiles and studying where they were used. In 1999 and 2006, new studies showed how common these tiles were in Roman villas from around the middle of the first century BC to the early second century AD.

Material, technique, production, and painting

The quality of these ancient tiles depended on the clay used. Workers mixed things like sand, chopped straw, or crushed brick into the clay to help it keep its shape while drying. These mixes left small colored spots in the tiles.

The tiles were made using molds. First, a design was carved into a punch, then a mold was made from it. Wet clay was pressed into these molds to create the tiles. After drying, the tiles were taken from the molds, possibly adjusted a little, and then fired in a kiln. Once fired, the tiles were painted. Sometimes the paint was put on before firing. The paint often had a light blue background, with other colors for different parts of the design. Today, most of the paint has faded away, leaving only small traces.

Distribution and dating

Campana reliefs were mostly found in Central Italy, especially in Latium, near the city of Rome. Other places where they were discovered include Campania and areas once ruled by the Etruscan people. They are not found in the Greek areas of southern Italy or Sicily. One example from Bonn was said to come from Agia Triada in Greece. Some similar items were also found in Spain and France.

The earliest Campana reliefs date to the middle of the first century BC, during the time of the Roman Republic. They were most common around the first quarter of the first century AD. Production stopped around the time of Hadrian. While we know roughly when they were made, it is hard to date each piece exactly. Comparing designs and styles can help, but many designs were used for a long time. Looking at the clay can also help, as it changed over time. The size of the tiles can also give clues, since repeated use of molds made the tiles smaller over the years.

Types and use

Campana reliefs were used to decorate buildings. We know where some tiles were found, but we are not sure where they were originally placed. Scholars think they were used on temples and other buildings for both protection and looks.

Campana reliefs can be grouped in several ways, but the most useful way is by their shape. The main types are cladding tiles, ridge tiles, sima tiles, crowning tiles, and antefixes.

• Cladding tiles: These tiles had an egg and dart pattern on the top edge and Lotus, palmettes, and anthemia on the bottom edge. They had holes to tie them to walls.
• Sima and Crowning tiles: These two types fit together using the Tongue and groove method. Sima tiles could include waterspouts and connect to cladding tiles. Crowning tiles usually had floral designs and had slots to hold the sima in place. Together, they formed the roof's edge.
• Ridge tiles: These were decorated like cladding tiles but without holes. They were used inside buildings to create longer decorative strips.
• Antefixes: These sat on or above the roof's edge and had two parts. One part curved over the bricks, and the other closed the front of the roof.

Motifs

The Campana reliefs have many different pictures, sorted into four main groups.

• Mythological themes: These include stories from the Homeric epics like the Trojan War and the Odyssey. They also show brave heroes such as Heracles, Theseus, and others, as well as scenes from Dionysiac themes.
• Landscapes: These often show scenes from the Nile.
• Daily life: Pictures of regular Roman life appear, including special events like Triumphs. There are also images of the theatre, the palaestra, the circus, and even prisoners.
• Ornamental images: Besides pretty designs like vines, there are also masks and gorgon heads.

Some tiles show Egyptian styles, including copies of Egyptian hieroglyphs, which are rare in Roman art. These tiles help us learn about ancient buildings and artwork, like those from the Capitoline temple.