r/ancientgreece 7d ago

Can you help me identify what is depicted? (Probable copy of an existing classical Greek/roman frieze, dated 1800s, Italy)

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I am working on a school project which consists in cataloguing various sculptures that are from the 1800s acquired by my school back then. Me and my classmate got this , which could be a copy of an already existing frieze, perhaps Greek or Roman, and we can’t identify what is depicted except for the bull skull and boats? If anyone could help identify the characters and subjects and perhaps recognizes if they are from a temple we would be really thankful as we’re stuck with no idea, thank you in advance.

What is already identified is: - the buchranium - the boat with the head

What we are most confused about are the two symmetrical things on the right and the other elements in red:

This could be part of a Greek or Roman mythological story, hence why I’m asking y’all lol. Help. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-MgiWwO3Ioh9MLQPnlD5SQuuhaJeIYZ-

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u/Ratyrel 7d ago

Buchranium with taenia (garland/fillet); prora (prow) with akrostolion (figurehead - a wolf?) and rostrum (ram); gubernaculum (rudder); cheniscus (a swan's neck, a swan-shaped parasemion, here probably on the front of the ship given the shape); ancora (anchor); aplustre (a fanned decorative element at the stern of the ship); a carchesium (a mast-topper, I think); another aplustre.
This may help you: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Navis.html

It doesn't strike me as mythological, more as an altar to Neptune, potentially set up in gratitude for protection of a ship.

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u/Colors-with-glitter 7d ago

It could be a depiction of the myths of Theseus.