Votive Offering
Date700 BC-400 AD
MediumEarthenware
ClassificationsReligious/Ritual Equipment
Terms
Object numberC07414
DescriptionVotive offering in form of the 'Sacred Ancile'. Brown and bow shaped with two holes in one side.The ancilia were 12 sacred shields kept in the temple of Mars. According to Roman myth one ancile fell from heaven during the reign of the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. It was said that while the shield was intact, Rome would be the mistress of the world. Numa Pompilius had 11 copies made of the shield in order to confuse thieves who wished to steal the original.
On View
Not on viewCollections
500 BC-500 AD
Andrieu
400-200 BC
Messrs Elkington & Co
1800-1840
212 AD
