The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
River Tiber Coral Relief [ARK00034]
Attached People: Collector (major) - Bargrave, John (1610-1680)Location(s): Current location at - Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives (Library and/or Archive) -> Canterbury Cathedral (Institution)
Annotation:[Canterbury Catalog: Orange/Red coloured coral with relief of reclining River Tiber. "The River of Tyber, carved on a piece of coral; ancient". According to the legend, Jupiter made Tiberinus Silvius a god and guardian spirit of the river after he fell in and drowned. This gave rise to the Roman depiction of the river as a powerfully built reclining river god, also named Tiberinus, with streams of water flowing from his hair and beard. The River Tiber was also believed to be the river into which Romulus and Remus were thrown as infants. Coral is the skeletal material of calcium carbonate built up by small animals that live in colonies in the sea. This material is usually branchlike and occurs in a variety of colours, of which the most sought after are rose red to red. The best coral comes from the Mediterranean Sea, particularly off the coasts of Algeria and Tunisia.]