Pilasters with Suits of Armour

These two marble pilasters are covered, top to bottom, in weapons. Carved in Roman workshops, most likely in the second century, their surfaces pack in more than 800 individual arms and over 100 different kinds of helmet, shield, sword and standard, laid out like a stone inventory of a Roman arsenal. Displays of captured arms like these were tied to the cult of Mars, the god of war, whose October festival, the Armilustrium, was the day Rome ritually cleansed and put away its weapons for the season. Ferdinand de' Medici acquired the pair, and they reached the Florentine gallery in 1588. Standing close, you can still pick out single blades and breastplates among the crowded trophies.