As shown in the Edictum de pretiis promulgated in 301 by Emperor Diocletian, the peacock, traded as much for its meat as for its feathers, represented, at the threshold of the fourth century, the most highly valued galliform bird on the market. Large-scale breeding of this bird – now in fact found in the wild state only in India, but essentially domestic throughout the world – is attested with certainty as early as the first century B.C. and had an aesthetic and ornamental purpose, at least in the case of male specimens (the only ones connoted by the well-known splendid plumage), but it undoubtedly possessed precise economic objectives, since the animal was not only slaughtered because of the highly sought-after meat used in the making of refined dishes to set luxurious tables (including those of emperors), and for the characteristic, highly prized, ocellated feathers (used to make fans, flyswatters or for ceremonial purposes), but it was also sold alive for the production of eggs, intended for both reproductive and food purposes.
Come mostra l’Edictum de pretiis promulgato nel 301 dall’imperatore Diocleziano, il pavone, oggetto di commercio tanto per la carne quanto per le piume, rappresentava, alle soglie del IV secolo, l’uccello galliforme più quotato sul mercato. L’allevamento su larga scala di questo volatile – oggi di fatto presente allo stato selvatico soltanto in India, ma sostanzialmente domestico in tutto il mondo – è attestato con certezza già nel I secolo a.C. e aveva una finalità estetica e ornamentale, almeno nel caso degli esemplari di sesso maschile (i soli connotati dal ben noto splendido piumaggio), ma possedeva senza dubbio precisi obiettivi economici, dal momento che l’animale non solo veniva macellato per via della carne molto ricercata, adoperata nella realizzazione di raffinate pietanze per imbandire mense di lusso (comprese quelle degli imperatori), e per le caratteristiche, pregiatissime, piume ocellate (usate per realizzare ventagli, scacciamosche o a scopi cerimoniali), ma veniva anche venduto vivo per la produzione di uova, destinate sia a scopi riproduttivi sia a impieghi alimentari.
Merce di lusso e status symbol: il pavone fra età repubblicana e Tarda Antichità
Margherita Cassia
2024-01-01
Abstract
As shown in the Edictum de pretiis promulgated in 301 by Emperor Diocletian, the peacock, traded as much for its meat as for its feathers, represented, at the threshold of the fourth century, the most highly valued galliform bird on the market. Large-scale breeding of this bird – now in fact found in the wild state only in India, but essentially domestic throughout the world – is attested with certainty as early as the first century B.C. and had an aesthetic and ornamental purpose, at least in the case of male specimens (the only ones connoted by the well-known splendid plumage), but it undoubtedly possessed precise economic objectives, since the animal was not only slaughtered because of the highly sought-after meat used in the making of refined dishes to set luxurious tables (including those of emperors), and for the characteristic, highly prized, ocellated feathers (used to make fans, flyswatters or for ceremonial purposes), but it was also sold alive for the production of eggs, intended for both reproductive and food purposes.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
