The Ephesos Museum in Vienna displays antiquities from the city of Ephesus in Turkey. In the late 19th century, under the auspices of the Institute of Classical Archaeology and conducted by the newly founded Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian scientists began conducting research in the ruins of Ephesus. Numerous objects of high quality were recovered and moved to Vienna. They can be seen today at the Ephesos Museum. The museum’s collection includes a selection of Roman sculptures and architectural elements that once decorated magnificent buildings such as the thermal baths and the Ephesian Great Theatre. The Ephesos Museum is an annex of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Lying on the Turkish Aegean coast, Ephesus was one of the largest cities of the ancient world and is now among the most popular tourist destinations in Turkey. The museum’s collection began when Sultan Abdul Hamid II donated some of the archaeological findings to the Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph I. The export of antiquities from Turkey was generally banned with the proclamation of the Turkish Antiquities Law of 1907 and no more artefacts was sent to Vienna after this date. Many other Ephesus artefacts are on display in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum near the site in Selçuk.
Alongside sculptures and architectural elements, a series of Roman reliefs unique in both its size and importance, the so-called Parthian Monument, forms a highlight of the collection.
selected masterpieces
Architecture
Facade pediment fragment from the Library of Celsus decorated with rosettes, garlands and the head of Medusa.Architectural elements of the Octagon, the tomb of the Ptolemaic princess Arsioe IV (half-sister of Cleopatra VII). The tomb was a vaulted burial chamber placed on a rectangular base and was located in the centre of Ephesus in front of the terrace houses.Acroterion in the shape of a palmette, Roman copy from the 1st half of 1st century AD of a Hellenistic original.Architectural elements from the Artemision Altar (one of the Seven Wonders of the World), including a fragment of a relief with a wounded Amazon, ca. 350 BC – 300 BC.Two fragments of a frieze with hunting Cupids that decorated the stage building of the Great Theatre of Ephesus, 2nd half of 1st century AD.Model of Ephesus.
Statues and busts
Female statues that decorated the niches on the lower storey of the Library of Celsus symbolizing wisdom (Sophia, left) and virtue (Arete, right).Head of Hadrian, of the so-called Chiaramonti 392 type, found among the ruins of the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates.Statue of an emperor wearing the military cuirass, 2nd century AD.Bronze candelabra (table lamp) depicting Heracles fighting the Centaur Nessos, 2nd century BC.Fragments of a marble sphinx group, from a detail on the throne of the statue of Zeus by Phidias’ at Olympia, Roman copy of Greek original (440 BC).Reconstruction from fragments of the marble sphinx group, from a detail on the throne of the statue of Zeus by Phidias’ at Olympia, Roman copy of Greek original (440 BC).Statue of Melpomene, Muse of tragedy, her right hand rests on a long club while her missing left hand must have been holding a tragic mask.Head of Hermes, the messenger of the gods, Roman copy from the middle of the 2nd century AD of a Greek bronze original dated to 430 BC, found in 1895 in the harbor baths.Bronze oil lamp with ionic capital and decorated with two busts of Hercules and Omphale, Roman period.
A bronze statue of an athlete (Apoxyomenos) dated to the 1st century AD and copied from a Greek original from the 4th century BC forms the centerpiece of the museum’s collection of Roman sculptures. It has been recreated from 234 fragments and shows a young athlete cleaning his strigil, an implement used to wash the body after a contest. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit in August 2015, the statue was on loan to the Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World exhibition at the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Bronze Statue of an Athlete “Ephesian Apoxyomenos”, 1st century AD. Photo by Manfred Werner (Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Parthian Monument
The Parthian Monument is one of the most important Roman-age reliefs from Asia Minor. In five thematic cycles it commemorates the Roman Emperor Lucius Verus who established a camp in Ephesus during his Parthian Campaign of 161-165 AD. These five thematic cycles are: 1. Adoption, 2. Parthian war, 3. Personifications of towns of the Empire, 4. “Apotheosis of Lucius Verus, 5. Meeting of the gods. The individual pieces were arranged in the form of a monumental altar with an U-shaped foundations. The friezes have a total length of about 70 metres, of which 40 metres are on display.
Relief frieze of the Parthian monument depicting the political act of adoption of Antoninus Pius and his successors, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus by Hadrian which took place during the last year of his reign in 138 AD.Relief frieze of the Parthian monument depicting the the Roman counter-attack against the Parthians which began in 162 and ended in 166 AD with the destruction of the Parthian capital Ctesiphon.Relief frieze of the Parthian monument depicting the Personifications of cities which participated in the events of the Parthian war, in the middle Carrhae and Edessa with vexillum flag.Relief frieze of the Parthian monument depicting the Apotheosis of Lucius Verus. Lucius Verus is represented on Helios’ chariot being driven by Nike (Victory) who leads him by the hand.Relief frieze of the Parthian monument depicting the Meeting of the gods.Relief friezes of the Parthian monument.Relief friezes of the Parthian monument.
Numismatic
Medaillon with the Artemission and two temples (Ephesus twice Neokoros), and coin of Elagabalus with the Artemission on the reverse, 3rd century AD.
The ancient city of Tripolis is located in the Denizli province, about 20 km northwest of Hierapolis (Pamukkale). The city was founded on the northern bank of the Maeander, where the borders of Phrygia, Caria and Lydia meet, and on the road leading from Sardes to Laodicea ad Lycum. It was originally known as Apollonia and, for a short time in the 1st century BC, was later renamed Antoniopolis (in honour of Mark Antony). The city took its final name sometime later, becoming known as Tripolis due to its location at the crossroads of these three regions.
The earliest mention of Tripolis is by Pliny the Elder, who described it as a Lydian settlement. In the 2nd century AD, Claudius Ptolemy described it as a Carian town, whilst the Byzantine geographer Hierocles called it a Lydian town. Although the city’s history dates back to the Hellenistic period, archaeological excavations have shown that the settlement’s origins can be traced to the 4th millennium BC. Tripolis reached its peak during the Roman period, from the 2nd century AD onwards. New public buildings, such as the city gates, baths, a stadium, a theatre, and a bouleuterion (council hall), were built during this period. During the Byzantine period, Tripolis became an important bishopric centre. A church dating back to the 6th century AD was unearthed during excavations in 2013.
PORTFOLIO
The Late Roman Agora. Constructed in the 4th century AD, the Agora was bordered by a seven-stepped platform intended for visitors to rest.The seven-stepped platform in the Late Roman Agora.The western portico of the Late Roman Agora was paved with opus sectile made from onyx marble.The 450m long colonnaded street ran in a north-southerly direction and was constructed in the early Roman period. In the early 5th century AD, fortification walls were built on its northern side.The Byzantine fortification wall was built along Collonaded Street in the 5th century AD.The 450m long colonnaded street runs in a north-southerly direction.The Nymphaeum (Orpheus Fountain) was built at the crossroads between Colonnaded Street and Hierapolis Street.Hierapolis Street is constructed of travertine blocks running in an east-west direction.The Hierapolis Street.The Arched Building with Cryptoporticus was constructed in the late Hellenistic or early Roman period.The Theatre was built on a natural hill with a 50-degree slope. It had a capacity of 8,000.The Theatre was probably erected in the 2nd century AD.The ruins of the Bouleuterion (Council Hall).The excavations in 2015.
following hadrian photography 