The Arch of Titus
The Arch of Titus – from Jerusalem to Rome, and Back
February 1, 2018 – April 8, 2018
Yeshiva University Museum
New York, NY
Presented in partnership with the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies
The Arch of Titus, built to commemorate Roman triumph in the Jewish War of 66-74 CE, has stood as a touchstone of Western civilization for nearly 2000 years. This exhibition explores the shifting meaning and significance of this monument – for the victorious Romans, for the defeated Jews, and for both Christians and Jews over the subsequent millennia.
Built on Rome’s Via Sacra, the “Sacred Road,” around 82 CE, the Arch of Titus features sculptural reliefs depicting Titus’s triumphal procession into the Eternal City in July, 71 CE. Painfully for Jews, the sacred vessels of the Jerusalem Temple are shown being carried into Rome by victorious Roman soldiers. At the center of the representation of the Spoils of Jerusalem is the seven-branched golden menorah, which, since 1949, has been used as the emblem of the State of Israel.
Items on loan
The ANS had a total of 33 objects on loan to this exhibition. Highlights of the loan include:
Silver shekel, Jerusalem, AD 67. 2010.69.7
Bronze 1/4, Jerusalem, AD 69 – AD 70. 2010.69.41
Gold Aureus of Vespasian, Lugdunum, AD 71 1944.100.39957
Bronze Sestertius of Vespasian, Rome, AD 71 1944.100.41563
Bronze Sestertius of Vespasian, Rome, AD 71 1967.153.218
Silver Denarius of Vespasian, Lugdunum, AD 71 1944.100.39958
Gold Aureus of Vespasian, Rome, AD 72 – AD 73 1954.256.11
Bronze Sestertius of Vespasian, Rome, AD 71 1944.100.39978
Silver Denarius of Vespasian, Ephesus, AD 71 1987.79.13
Gold Aureus of Titus, Rome, AD 80 1944.100.41642
Bronze Sestertius of Domitian, Rome, AD 88 – AD 89 1957.172.1603
Gold Aureus of Domitian, Rome, AD 88 1957.191.20
Bronze prutah of Antigonus II Mattathias, Jerusalem, 40 BC – 37 BC. 2013.63.446
Silver tetradrachm, Judea, AD 133 – AD 134. 2010.76.30
Silver denarius, Judea, AD 134 – AD 135. 2010.76.124
