Labor as Religio in Imperial Rome: The fabri tignarii Relief

Depictions of labor in the Roman world have typically been interpreted as either empirical evidence for economic activities, or as status claims made by workers in imitation of the upper classes. Through a close-reading of one monument, the so-called fabri tignarii relief, this chapter instead proposes that many examples of Roman labor art should be understood as expressing an epistemic alternative to the hierarchical status model most clearly expressed by Cicero in de Finibus. The chapter argues for the relief’s associations with both funeral and state art, and considers the context of its viewing, most notably during religious sacrifice. Ultimately, the relief demonstrates the value of the laboring body to the religious maintenance of the public welfare.