Cautionary Tales · Stop No. 89
Rudis
“I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours”
- Era
- Roman Empire, disputed
- Provenance
- The arenas of Italia
- Medium
- Single-color print on black cotton
- Edition
- Study collection — date under review
Tour print for the freedom circuit, wooden swords crossed before the Colosseum. The rudis was awarded once, on the day a gladiator won his release — a blade that could not cut anything except a career short. The date is printed with confidence, if not accuracy.
Conservator’s note: the tour date reads 1980 AD; a sister plate reads 79 AD. One of them is off by a millennium and neither printer will concede. The swords here are wooden, which the conservators consider the stronger claim to the title.
Under Study
The Gift Shop
- Museum Reproduction Tee
- Exhibition Poster