{{Short description|Tablet with dovetail handles}} [[File:Heiligtum mainz4.jpg|thumb|''Tabulae ansatae'' from the sanctuary of Isis and Magna Mater in Mainz]] [[File:Tombeau de Charles IV d'anjou, comte du Maine.JPG|thumb|''Tabula ansata'' relief on the tomb of Charles, Count of Maine attributed to Francesco Laurana, in Le Mans Cathedral]] [[File:AdamclisiMetope10.jpg|thumb|A ''tabula ansata'' on the right side of the boss on a soldier shield, metope XXIV from Tropaeum Traiani]]
A '''tabula ansata''' or '''tabella ansata''' (Latin for "tablet with handles", plural ''tabulae ansatae'' or ''tabellae ansatae'') is a tablet with dovetail handles.<ref> {{Cite book |last1 = Giroire |first1 = Cécile |last2 = Roger |first2 = Daniel <!-- |authorlink = --> |title = Roman art from the Louvre |publisher = Hudson Hills Press |year = 2007 |page = 109 |isbn = 978-1-55595-283-9}}</ref> It was a favorite form for votive tablets in Imperial Rome.<ref> {{Cite book |last1 = Meyer |first1 = Elizabeth A. <!-- |authorlink = --> |title = Legitimacy and law in the Roman world: tabulae in Roman belief and practice |url = https://archive.org/details/legitimacylawrom00meye |url-access = limited |publisher = Cambridge University Press |year = 2004 |page = [https://archive.org/details/legitimacylawrom00meye/page/n44 28] |isbn = 0-521-49701-9 |lccn = 2003051532}}</ref>
==Overview== ''Tabulae ansatae'' identifying soldiers' units have been found on the ''tegimenta'' (leather covers) of shields, for example in Vindonissa (Windisch, Switzerland).<ref>See [http://www.leg8.com/Musees/Vindonissa/vindonissa_03.jpg picture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218054821/http://leg8.com/Musees/Vindonissa/vindonissa_03.jpg |date=2010-12-18 }} ([http://www.leg8.com/Musees/vindonissa.php source page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221224948/http://www.leg8.com/Musees/vindonissa.php |date=2012-02-21 }})</ref> Sculptural evidence, for example on the metopes from the Tropaeum Traiani (Adamclisi, Romania), shows that they were also used for the same purpose on the shields.<ref> {{Cite news |last1 = Tansey |first1 = Patrick |title = M. Titius, Menas and the ''insignia scutorum'' |periodical = Klio |publisher = Akademie Verlag |publication-place = Berlin |date = June 2008 |volume = 90 |issue = 1 |doi = 10.1524/klio.2008.0004 |pages = 68–70 }}</ref>
==Modern era== ''Tabulae ansatae'' have been used by modern artists from as early as the 15th century, as shown on the tomb of Charles, Count of Maine, attributed to Francesco Laurana, in Le Mans Cathedral.<ref name="Burlington"> {{Cite book |last1 = Barnard |first1 = Toby Christopher |last2 = Clark |first2 = Jane <!-- |authorlink = --> |title = Lord Burlington: architecture, art and life |publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group |year = 1995 |pages = 118–120 |isbn = 1-85285-094-9}}</ref> The Statue of Liberty by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi is holding one such tablet on which "July IV MDCCLXXVI" is inscribed.
==Gallery== <gallery> File:4545 - Istanbul - Museo archeol. - Rilievo traianeo dalla Romania sec. II d.C. - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg|''Tabulae ansatae'' on soldiers' shields – metope from the Tropaeum Traiani, Archaeological Museum of Istanbul File:Dativius Victor Bogen.jpg|A ''tabula ansata'' on the attic of the arch of Dativius Victor (de) in Mainz File:Fra-titusbuen.jpg|''Tabulae ansatae'' carried on sticks – Arch of Titus<ref name="Burlington"/> File:Triumph1-Mantegna-picture-bearers.jpg|A ''tabula ansata'' carried on a stick – ''Triumphs of Caesar'' by Andrea Mantegna<ref name="Burlington"/> File:Ostia Mosaic.jpg|''Tabula ansata'' on a mosaic in Ostia Antica File:EIS PHAOS.JPG|''Tabula ansata'' on George Bancroft's bookplate Statue of Liberty frontal 2.jpg|The Statue of Liberty (formally ''Liberty Enlightening the World'') holds a ''tabula ansata'' inscribed with "July 4 1776" in Roman numerals Happy 4th! (14572157225).jpg|Detail of the Statue of Liberty's ''tabula'' </gallery>
==Footnotes== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/14587430@N05/2973554448/ Ancient tabula ansata] made of metal from Italica (Spain). * [http://alain.guilleux.free.fr/ismailia/IMG_4007.JPG Tabula ansata on the Shaykh Zwaydah (Cheikh Zouède) mosaic] ([http://alain.guilleux.free.fr/ismailia/ismailia.php source page]), 4th century AD, Ismailia museum, Egypt, discovered in 1913 by Jean Clédat<ref> {{Cite book |editor-last = Haldimann |editor-first = Marc-André |last1 = Picirillo |first1 = Michele |authorlink = :fr:Michele Piccirillo (archéologue) |contribution = Les mosaïques de la bande de Gaza |title = Gaza à la croisée des civilisations: Contexte archéologique et historique |publisher = Chaman Edition |year = 2007 |page = picture N°119 |isbn = 978-2-9700435-5-3}}</ref>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabula Ansata}} Category:Ancient Roman metalwork Category:Inscriptions