History
The Cancelleria Reliefs were discovered under the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome in the late 1930s, and owe this name to their place of finding. It is not known who sculpted these works or which building they were intended to adorn, but it is believed the entire work was executed by the same man, on a commission by the Roman Emperor Domitian. They are currently on display in the Vatican Museums in Rome.
The two panels, commonly referred to as Frieze A and Frieze B, were found incomplete. Frieze A survived relatively intact, but misses a part of the left end, making it difficult to assess the exact length of the original work. Frieze B contains various broken panels, and is thought to have spanned a width of nearly 597 cm. Both reliefs measure 210 cm in height.
A number of cautious suggestions have been put forth as to the original location of the Cancelleria Reliefs. Most likely, the sculptures decorated one of the numerous buildings erected under Domitian. Brian Jones suggests two possible locations: the Templum Divorum, which was a shrine dedicated to the military triumphs of Vespasian and Titus., or one of multiple arches which were said to have been erected under Domitian, but were torn down following his death.
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