Igel Column


The Igel Column is a multi-storeyed Roman sandstone column in the municipality of Igel, Trier, Germany, dated to. The column is the burial monument of the Secundinii cloth merchant family.
Measuring in height, it is crowned by the sculptural group of Jupiter and Ganymede. The column includes a four-stepped base, a relatively low podium, topped by a projecting cornice, a storey, its flat Corinthian pilasters with decorated shafts, supporting an architrave, a sculptured frieze and a heavy cornice. The bas-reliefs feature a procession of six coloni, bringing various donations to the house of their master. The coloni are received before the entrance to the atrium. The donations consist of a hare, two fish, a kid, an eel, a rooster and a basket of fruit.
The Igel Column is designated as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier. It has been represented numerous time in paintings and drawings. A polychromed replica dominates the central courtyard of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier.