Unguentaria from Rome: A Typological Comparison between Brazilian and Roman Institutions

• Grant number: 25/16378-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology
• Principal Investigator: Vagner Carvalheiro Porto
• Grantee: Pietra de Souza Breviglieri Castilho
• Supervisor: Paolo Carafa
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 25/01568-8 - Unguentaria from the Yunes and the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern of MAE-USP Collections, BP.IC

Abstract

The current project is linked to the research entitled "Unguentaria from Yunes and the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern of MAE-USP Collections", which aims to build a database based on the objects present in two collections: Yunes - a private collection - and MAE - a public one. Furthermore, this research intends to associate the physical characteristics of the objects with the functions during the period. The lack of studies on these artifacts in Brazil leaves many questions unanswered, which hinders not only the analysis of the objects themselves but also the understanding of everyday life in ancient Roman societies. Thus, this project aims to analyze the different typologies that can be better studied through the libraries and museums of Sapienza University of Rome. In addition, the proximity of various cultural and archaeological institutions will allow for broader access to the materials, through museums, archaeological sites, and libraries located near the university, thereby providing a deeper understanding of Roman history and its everyday and ritual practices. Accordingly, a series of comparisons will be made between the artifacts from Brazilian and Italian institutions, in order to establish possible connections between time periods and typological similarities. The results obtained from this project will be integrated into the final outcome of the research "Unguentaria from Yunes and the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern of MAE-USP Collections" and published in the Digital Library of Intellectual Production of the University of São Paulo (BDPI).