Roman Fresco Magnets

We have reproduced four designs of delicately painted images from ancient Roman frescoes on magnets made of a resin that mimics the texture of a plaster wall from antiquity. Each has a detail from a fresco fragment in the collection of the museum at the Getty Villa. Each resin magnet is 1 3/4" square.

Fresco painting was one of the most popular methods of wall decoration in ancient Rome. A wall would first be covered with fresh plaster. Pigments were then dissolved in water and applied to wet plaster. The combination of minerals in the pigment and carbon dioxided in the air created a solid surface upon drying. Ancient fresco painting yields colorful, enduring works of art, which crack due to the settling of building walls.

Fresco Fragment

Fresco Fragment: This reproduction features a detail of a Roman fresco from about the 1st century CE in the museum's Antiquities collection.

Cupids

Fresco Fragment with Cupids and Psyche Making Perfume: This reproduction of a Roman fresco from the third quarter of the 1st century CE in the museum's Antiquities collection depicts a Cupid holding an alabastron of perfume, while a seated Psyche holds up her arm to smell the fragrance.

Nike

Wall Fragment with Winged Female (Nike) on Black Ground: This reproduction of a Roman fresco from about 70 CE in the museum's Antiquities collection portrays Nike, the Greek goddess of victory with her wings extended while holding two garlands.

Dionysos

Nude but for the drapery swirling around them, Bacchus and his consort Ariadne walk with arms entwined against a plain white background, as if floating. Ariadne lifts a ceremonial drinking horn called a rhyton, while Bacchus carries a wine cup called a kantharos.

- 1 3/4" L x 1 3/4" W
- Item #: MAGFRF, MAGFRC, MAGFRN, MAGFRD