Meditating with Roman artists (2nd century AD)

In the 2nd century AD. BC, the Gallo-Roman town of Ratiatum reached its peak. Installed along the Seil, a tributary of the Loire, the future Rezé then extends over more than a kilometer its quays and warehouses, its shops, its pottery workshops and its private estates. At the crossroads of several trade routes, the city, located at the point where the river breaks, welcomes ocean-going vessels to transfer their goods to boats adapted to the river. We imagine the life that goes with it, animated by its share of local peasants and traders, but also by slaves and soldiers from all over the empire. At each crossroads, altars are installed in a niche to accommodate the representation of the lares, these Roman domestic spirits supposed to protect users of the surrounding areas.

But little by little, these “lararies” will become small heterogeneous sanctuaries, illustrating the fairly natural religious syncretism of the Romans. Here, in this set discovered in 1863, three molded figurines, in white clay, face us. In the center, with her impressive Roman hairstyle, is Sabine, the wife of Emperor Hadrian, surrounded by two figurines of unknown Gallic deities evoking the world of nature and the cosmos. A small dog, sitting, speaks of protection, of vigilance. And, in the foreground, a stylized pig, carved from limestone painted yellow, announces economic prosperity. Religious sentiment and superstition are never far from the business world. Two centuries later, in this town which has since become extinct due to the silting up of the port, the Christian faith also took root. With, as the only and precious commodity, the gift of crazy hope.