Tondo with family of Septimius
The only preserved image immortalizing the imperial family, found in Egypt. The panel presents Septimius Severus with Julia Domna and her sons: Caracalla and Geta.
All members of the imperial family are dressed in ceremonial robes, and the sons and their father hold in their hands sceptres decorated with precious stones.
It is characteristic that Geta’s face has been erased from the image. This was due to the condemnation of memory – damnatio memoriae, which ordered Caracalla after the murder of his brother in 212 CE.
“Severan Tondo” is one of several preserved examples of panel paintings from the period of antiquity. The work has a diameter of 30,5 cm.
