![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The cutting of jewels, hard stones and cameos reached new levels of sophistication, creating stunningly beautiful pieces. And Rome’s involvement with Egypt fueled an outbreak of Egyptomania and the import of a host of luxury goods from that region. The defeats of the fabulously rich Mithradates, king of Pontus in Asia Minor, brought vast quantities of finely wrought objects in the form of booty. But Gaul as a country was a Roman concept, its lands inhabited by diverse tribes who were often at war with each other, a fact that left them fatally vulnerable to the more disciplined, technologically advanced and better commanded Romans, even though it is reckoned that Caesar’s legions - who, according to their general “could storm the heavens” - never numbered more than 50,000 men.ĭespite the turbulence of the period and renewed civil war scattered across the Roman empire - sparked by Caesar’s unauthorized crossing of the Rubicon with his forces returning from Gaul - this was a most productive era artistically, reflected in the opulent range of art and artifacts displayed here. The Gauls were formidable warriors, one of them represented here by a uniquely intact statue from the 1st century B.C, the “Vachères Warrior,” from the Provençal Alps, wearing chainmail (an invention of Celtic metalworkers). According to the ancient author Plutarch, the conflict cost over a million Gaul lives, with a further million sold into slavery, while vast tracts of the region were devastated. Far from being a “just war,” even by Roman standards, the Gallic Wars were acts of aggression, pursued by their initiator primarily for personal glory and booty. Vatican Museums/Roderick Conway MorrisĬaesar won a number of significant victories during his career, all noted here, but it was his conquest of Gaul (and Britain) that guaranteed his military immortality. Portrait bust of Julius Caesar, 1st century B.C. ![]()
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