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Papers by Elina Anastasova

За изображението на Ерос с факел върху надгробен паметник от градската територия на Рациария, 2022

The main emphasis of this paper is on a funerary monument (Fig. 1) found on the territory of the ... more The main emphasis of this paper is on a funerary monument (Fig. 1) found on the territory of the ancient city of Ratiaria near the village of General Marinovo, Vidin Province (Bulgaria). It represents an image of a winged boy holding a wreath with flowers, and resting on a torch held downwards. The figure is carved on а monument whose shape has close parallels to an altar. There is a pinecone оn top of it, which is typical of grave stelae. The aim of this article is to discuss the iconography, style, parallels and date of this monument. Along with that, we comment on its symbolic meaning, development and reception in Roman art. This will explain its wide popularity among grave monuments during the 1st – 3rd centuries AD.
The motif known as Eros with a torch / Genius with a torch is popular in funerary monuments known from Rome and from the Roman provinces of Noricum, Pannonia, Upper Moesia, Dacia, etc. Also, it could be seen on sarcophagi, urns, funerary stelae, and grave sculptures discovered in Roman provinces located on the territory of present-day Bulgaria.
The complex analysis helps us to date the monument from General Marinovo to the second half of the 2nd century AD. It was probably made during the time of the Antonine dynasty. Eros with a torch could be interpreted as a personification of death as eternal sleep.

E. Anastasova. Personifications in Roman Art from the Territory of Bulgaria (1st - 3rd c. AD). Thesis Abstract (in English)., 2023

Personifications in Roman Art from the Territory of Bulgaria (1st - 3rd c. AD). Thesis Abstract.

Е. АНАСТАСОВА. ПЕРСОНИФИКАЦИИТЕ В РИМСКОТО ИЗКУСТВО ОТ ТЕРИТОРИЯТА НА БЪЛГАРИЯ (І-ІІІ в.). АВТОРЕФЕРАТ., 2023

Автореферат на дисертационния труд "Персонификациите в римското изкуство от територията на Българ... more Автореферат на дисертационния труд "Персонификациите в римското изкуство от територията на България (I-III в.)".

За два римски портрета от територията на Никополис ад Иструм. - Personalia. Изкуствоведски четения/Art readings , 2022

This paper focuses on the portrait busts of a boy and a girl with features of the personification... more This paper focuses on the portrait busts of a boy and a girl with features of
the personifications of Sun and Moon found at the territory of Roman city
of Nicopolis ad Istrum. The male bust has seven drilled holes on his head
and the girl’s has only two probably done for placing a solar crown and a
crescent moon. At the shoulders of the the young girl are moulded moon
cusps typical for the iconography of Luna.
The analysis of the iconographic and stylistic characteristics of the monument
helps us specify its precise date and place it among other statues in Roman
provincial art. The iconography, as well as the Latin inscription written on
the base gives us a chance to discuss the funerary context and function of the
two sculptural portraits shown in guise of Sol and Luna. The portrait is part
of the group of monuments in formam deorum and it is dated in the end of
2nd c. AD.

Паметникът от Долна Бешовица в контекста на римското изкуство на Долна Мизия. - Jubilaeus VІІІ/2, 2021

The article is dedicated to an urn found in the territory of Dolna Beshovica, Vratza district. It... more The article is dedicated to an urn found in the territory of Dolna Beshovica, Vratza district. Its four walls
are covered with several depictions – images of a man and woman; a horseman; a young man holding garlands and
a man with torch held downwards. The images are typical for sarcophagi, funerary stelae and statues, but the combination
of four of them on the same urn is unusual.
The depicted male and female figures are interpreted as a married couple (Fig. 1). The male figure has a military
outfit, armed with spatha, while the woman’s figure wears chiton and himation. Both images have parallels in the
Roman funerary art. The man had probably been part of the Roman army and the iconography of the lady’s figure
has close parallels with the so called “Large Herculaneum Woman”.
The figure of a horseman is widespread image in votive and funeral sculpture. The horseman is shown moving
right in gallop. His head is bigger than his body and he wears chiton, spear and shield. In front of him a high altar is
sculptured (Fig. 2). There are several depictions of members of the Roman army as horseman on funeral reliefs of 3rd
c. AD found in the same region, where the urn originates from. These parallels, as well as the lack of hunting scene
in combination with a snake wrapped around a tree, which is typical for votive tablets of the Thracian rider, could
be used as an argument for accepting this horseman’s figure as a symbol of social status of the buried man and his
virtues as a good Roman citizen and soldier.
The two other figures depict different aspects of Eros’s iconography, quite common in the funerary art. In the
first case Eros is shown holding garlands (Fig. 3). This iconography is well known from sarcophagi and urn’s decoration
used from the Hellenistic period until the end of the 3rd c. AD. The iconographic scheme of Eros holding torch
downwards (Fig. 4) is conventional and is well known from a mausoleum in Ratiaria, as well as on sarcophagi and
stelae from Lower Moesia.
The analogies of the figures are offered by several stelae dated in the second half of the 3rd c. AD and found in
the same region. The closest parallel of the iconography of this monument is a gravestone from Gorna Beshovica (Fig.
5), dated in the end of the 3rd c. AD, where all images carved on the Dolna Beshovica urn (except for Eros holding
garlands) could be seen. The combination of the four iconographic schemes represent the idea of the death, social
status and the military service of the deceased. The urn is an excellent example of the style of the Roman art in the
region in the second half of a 3rd c. AD.

The topic of the cults in the urban environment of the Roman provincial towns has excited the res... more The topic of the cults in the urban environment of the Roman provincial towns has excited the researchers for years, leaving behind more questions than answers. Due to lack of enough epigraphic monuments to confirm and guide the researcher of the ancient past in the right direction, the present study is an attempted reconstruction of the religious life in the Roman city of Serdica based on the analysis of the reverse images represented on the coins issued by the provincial mint of Serdica.

A b s t r Ac t An interesting object made of lead was found during the archaeological investigati... more A b s t r Ac t An interesting object made of lead was found during the archaeological investigations in the summer of 2013 in the archaeological site of Dobelt, part of Archaeological reserve Deultum – Debelt. It has cylindrical shape and its bottom has been broken in antiquity. There are traces on the edge of the object suggesting an iron application or a handle. In its current condition the object weights 877 gr. Two imprints from the obverse of Emperor Antoninus Pius's coins (138-161) are preserved on the surface of the cylinder. According to one of the available analogies, it was considered the that imprints were made of coins struck in 160-161, during the last years of the Emperor's rule. The object can be interpreted as a standard for weight measures. It weighs two or more Roman pounds. A similar object has never been previously found at the territory of Bulgaria.

Conference Presentations by Elina Anastasova

Персонификациите върху реверсите на сердикийското монетосечене като предмет на имперска пропаганда

Речният бог от Никополис ад Иструм

ИЗ КУС ТВО И КОН ТЕКСТ 3 юни 2021 г. (четвъртък) 9.00 Откриване: проф. д-р Емануел Мутафов, дирек... more ИЗ КУС ТВО И КОН ТЕКСТ 3 юни 2021 г. (четвъртък) 9.00 Откриване: проф. д-р Емануел Мутафов, директор на Институт за изследване на изкуствата-БАН ИЗКУСТВО НА ОБРАЗА-ИЗКУСТВО И РЕЛИГИЯ Водещ: Марина Колева 9.30-9.45 Елина Анастасова, Институт за изследване на изкуствата-БАН. Речният бог от Никополис ад Иструм 9.45-10.00 Maria Chumak, Pondicherry University, India. The Greco-Buddhist Influence on the Early Christian Art 10.00-10.15 Кристиян Ковачев, ЮЗУ ,,Неофит Рилски". Образът на папа Силвестър в охридската църква "Св. София" в контекста на динамичните отношения между Изтока и Запада 10.15-10.30 Тереза Бачева, Институт за изследване на изкуствата-БАН. Изображенията на папа Силвестър в стенописните програми на българските църкви от XV-XVIII в. 10.30-10.45 Наталия Грънчарова, Институт за изследване на изкуствата-БАН. Неовизантийският орнамент в българските ръкописи от XIV в. 10.45-11.00 Наталия Владинова, Институт за изследване на изкуствата-БАН. Проучвания на технологията на украсата на българската ръкописна книга от XV-XVII в.

Personalia, Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 16-18 April 2021