Image 8
Oceanus
Rome
1st - 2nd centuries A.D. (Empire)
Bronze
4 1/8 inches
The Lillian Z. Turnblad Memorial Fund 61.58

• According to Greco-Roman creation mythology, the Titan (TIE-tun) Oceanus (oh-SHE-a-nus) ruled the great river that encircled the earth.
• Affluent Romans displayed their wealth by decorating their furnishings with ornamental pieces such as this bronze boss.
• This Roman boss depicts Oceanus as a realistic human being rather than as a monster or sublime force of nature.

Long before the world existed, there was Chaos--immeasurable, dark, and wild. Out of Chaos came Night and Erebus (AIR-a-bus), a dim place. All was still, black, silent, and without end until Love emerged. Love brought Light and Day, which then produced Earth. No one can recall just how any of this happened. Then Earth, called Gaea (JEE-ah), produced the boundless blue Heaven, called Uranus (YUR-a-nus). The union of Heaven and Earth produced gigantic monstrous children with overwhelming power. Among their children were the one-eyed Cyclops (SIGH-clops), the 100-handed Hecatoncheires (hec-a-TAHN-churs), and the mighty natural forces, the Titans.

Six female and six male Titans ruled the universe. One of them was called Oceanus because he ruled the great river Ocean that encircled the earth and formed its outermost limits. Oceanus and his Titan wife, Tethys (TEH-thees), had 3,000 sons and 3,000 daughters. Their sons were the spirits of the rivers. Their daughters, known as Oceanids, were spirits of streams and springs. Eventually, the Titans' children destroyed their parents and became the gods of the Greek world.

Creation Myth
Greek creation myths, and their Roman counterparts, explained the origin, structure, and nature of the world. These mythologies were central to ancient religions, though as time passed they came to be viewed as literature more than anything. Hesiod (HES-ee-ud), the Greek poet-historian, wrote the most detailed account of the Greeks' creation mythology. He presented creation in the form of a genealogical chart. According to Hesiod, the six Titan couples produced the first generation of Greek deities.

The ancient Romans adapted much of the Greeks' mythology, including their notion of creation. In many cases, Roman household gods, practical forces in daily life, took on the fabulous personalities and exciting exploits of the Greek gods.

Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was born in 31 B.C. when Octavian Caesar, later known as Augustus, triumphed after 90 years of civil war. Augustus and his immediate successors in the 1st century A.D. promoted the arts in order to display the grandeur of their empire.

Realism
The general, idealized figures of ancient Greek sculpture, frequently emulated by early Romans, gave way to realistic portraiture in the 1st century A.D. The Romans, who valued the family, recorded the faces and character traits of important family members in realistic portraits. Individualistic details such as wrinkled foreheads, prominent noses, or slacking jowls were marks of hard work and accomplishment. Artists portrayed gods and other mythical beings with similar REALISM and individuality.

Furnishings
Affluent Romans liked to display their wealth in elaborately decorated furnishings. Ornamental pieces, called bosses, adorned the juncture points of tables, stools, and the curving heads and footboards of luxurious bronze and wooden couches. The finest pieces incorporated detailed INLAY work in silver, ivory, and tortoiseshell.

Oceanus
This circular bronze boss depicts the Titan Oceanus. His bearded face projects out from a BACKGROUND of decorative scales. In keeping with the artistic realism of the time, Oceanus is portrayed as a bearded old man, not as a monster or a sublime force of nature. Locks of wavy hair frame his heavy face. His eyes are inlaid silver, and silver and copper inlays highlight his cheeks, nose, and forehead. Two dolphins leap from the top of his head, suggesting the form of a crown and alluding to Oceanus's role as an aquatic ruler. Two fish dive among the locks of his hair near his temples, and two others emerge from his beard.

Look
1. Tell the story of Oceanus. What did Oceanus rule over as a Titan? (The ocean.) Can you see evidence of his role as ruler of the ocean in this bronze? (Head emerges out of a "scaly" BACKGROUND. Two dolphins rise out of his head at the crown. Fish swim in and out of his hair and beard.)

2. How big do you think this bronze sculpture is? Discuss the function of the boss as furniture decoration. With this purpose in mind, how big do you think this is? Images can be deceiving! Show an object of similar size to illustrate the small size of the boss - 4 1/8 inches. What kind of furniture do you think this was made for? A chair? A bed? Why? (No right answer since we don't know for sure.)

3. SUBTRACTIVE SCULPTURE is made by removing unwanted material from a solid mass, such as wood or marble. ADDITIVE SCULPTURE is made by building up a form by molding or MODELING a material such as clay. Is this bronze boss an example of additive or subtractive sculpture? Discuss bronze casting, an additive method of sculpting, in which an artist models the sculpture in clay, then uses it to make a mold for molten bronze.

4. Artists throughout time have often EMBELLISHED their sculptures, adding material to the basic medium for decorative and/or expressive effects. How did this artist embellish this sculpture? (INLAID silver eyes and silver and copper inlay on cheeks, nose, and forehead.) What function do these embellishments serve? (Adding precious metals make the boss more valuable, expressing the wealth of its owner.)

2. Ancient Romans placed great emphasis on realistic portraiture and so chose to represent the natural force of the ocean, Oceanus the Titan, as an individual, realistic human. How would you represent a natural force such as the wind, or an earthquake? Would your representation be human? Animal? ABSTRACT? NON-OBJECTIVE? Explain your answer.

3. The artist who made this bronze boss INLAID it with silver and copper to make it more valuable. Today people still increase the value of objects by adding precious materials. What are some examples? (Jewelry with precious stones such as diamonds are more valuable than plain metals; coats with fur trim; floors inlaid with custom tile or stone; cars with leather upholstery; a ceiling with GILDED or molded decoration.) Are there other ways we make things more valuable? (Logos, designer names or sports SYMBOLS on clothing. Hand-made items are often more valuable than their machine-made counterparts.)

4. This bronze boss is a Roman interpretation of a Greek myth. Is one culture's interpretation of another's mythology an authentic interpretation? Why or why not? Would we consider this more genuine or legitimate if it had been made by a Greek artist? Why or why not?