The Horti Sallustiani Obelisk was made in Rome, dating back to the first century AD. Literally meaning “Gardens of Sallustius” (Sullustius being a Roman historian), it was placed in a private estate of a certain Roman elite near Pincio hill. It is believed to be a copy of an obelisk at Circus Maximus.
The first difference that meets the eye is of course, it’s style. While the obelisk at Circus Maximus was decorated with Egyptian-styled pictures, the Horti Sallustiani obelisk is clearly Roman.
The arrangement of the decorations and symbols however, are very similar.
They both depict, in the bottom part of the west panel, a man kneeling, making an offering to the Egyptian god Amun-Re, who has a solar disc placed above his head. In the Circus Maximus obelisk it is the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II kneeling, whereas in the Horti Sallustiani obelisk it is a man dressed in Roman Clothing. Also, the symbols on this obelisk are depicted slightly different. It could very well be that it is still the Pharaoh and that the symbols have the same meaning, but it has been depicted differently to make it more recognizable for the Roman public.
As for the meaning of these obelisk, it’s hard to tell what the exact function might have been. It is commonly known that the Romans (as did the Greeks) had admiration for Egyptian art. It is of course way too simple to say that there was no symbolic value whatsoever. Perhaps emperor Augustus placed the Circus Maximus obelisk in this manner, as to remind his people of his victories in Egypt.
However, native Egyptian obelisks were usually placed in the vicinity of a tomb or temple. There would have been a heavy symbolic value attached to it, like the remembrance of a pharaoh or god. But these obelisks were placed in theaters and private gardens, and therefore are most likely purely made for aesthetic purposes. It is important to see these obelisks from a Roman imperialistic perspective for that very reason.
This still does not explain why the Circus Maximus obelisk was copied. Most likely, the maker (or at least the person for whom it was made) wanted to relate to the glorious history of the Roman empire, for example the aforementioned victory of Augustus in Egypt, by placing it near his own home. All four sides of the original 13-meter high structure are covered in hieroglyphs, and are of course hard to understand for the Roman public. The fact that the figures in the piece are wearing Roman clothing might indicate that the maker sees Egypt as a part of the Empire, and wanted to place the structure in his own personal context.
Literature used:
Hölscher, T., Language of Images in Roman Art, Cambridge, 2004.
