Un biberon sur une fontaine d’époque augustéenne à Palestrina?

Overview & Synopsis

Since the end of the 20 th century, the cultural dimension of breastfeeding is addressed by scholars who explore its nature, maternal or mercenary, human or animal, as well as the effects, good or harmful, of the different milks on the child. The subject contributes to medical and health history, also revealing past societal and political strategies. By contrast, there has been almost no research on artificial milk feeding. Even if it was common to resort to the service of a wet-nurse during the Antiquity, it is established that some situations were resolved artificially. This article aims at filling in this gap with a new document : a fountaine relief depicting a vessel substituting for the breast, commonly called 'feeding-bottle'. This representation is found on a famous augustean marble monument in Palestrina. The person who ordered this work of art is Verrius Flaccus, an eminent scholar who taught the grandsons of Augustus. He also conceived a monumental calendar connected with the fountain, using the power of narratives for personal propaganda.