Bust of Augustus with Gemmed Crown
Ritratto di Augusto
Typebust
Materialmarble
Height43 cm
Created27 BC - 14 AD
Period/cultureJulio-Claudian Dynasty
Discovered1889
Via Merulana, Rome
Present locationCapitoline Museum
ClassificationRoman sculpture
Identificationinv. MC0495
CultureRoman Empire

The Bust of Augustus with Gemmed Crown is a Roman Bust depicting the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus.

Discovered in 1889, it is currently displayed at the Capitoline Museums, at the Capitoline Hill, in Rome, Italy. It is displayed in the Hall of the Emperors, first established in 1733 by Pope Clement XII, which features a gallery of imperial portraits of Roman emperors displayed in chronological order. It is designated as accession number inv. MC0495.[1][2]

Discovery

The bust was first discovered in the 1889 excavations at the Via Merulana, within close proximity to the Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano which served as filler for a medieval period wall. It was subsequently identified by Carlo Ludovico Visconti.[3][4][5]

Description

The crown of Augustus was considered a type of civic crown, commonly consisting of oak leaves, and is a classified as a military decoration given to Romans who save the lives of Roman citizens during warfare. Though subsequent analysis of the wreath indicates that the crown could be that of myrtle leaves or laurel, more indicative of triumphal crowns made to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium.[3][4][6]

Augustus is portrayed at the height of his glory, with a calm expression, and head slightly tilted to the right with closed lips. It is done similar to the Augustus of Prima Porta, also held in the Capitoline's collection. A bust of a similar style is present in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with a characteristic style called the "Forbes type", which maintains a motif of comma-shaped locks brushed to one side of the forehead. These sculptures are classified by classical archaeologist Dietrich Boschung as a "third chronological type" of the emperor.[3][4][7]

Exhibition

The sculpture has been exhibited abroad at:

References

  1. ↑ "Hall of the Emperors | Musei Capitolini". www.museicapitolini.org. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  2. ↑ "Ritratto di Augusto | Musei Capitolini". www.museicapitolini.org. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Auguste: [exposition], Rome, Scuderie del Quirinale, 18 octobre 2013-9 février 2014, Paris, Grand Palais, Galeries nationales, 19 mars-13 juillet 2014. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais. 2014. ISBN 978-2-7118-6173-6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Chausson, François; Galliano, Geneviève; Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon, eds. (2019). Claude, Lyon, 10 avant J.-C.-Rome, 54 après J.-C: un empereur au destin singulier (2e édition revue ed.). Paris: Lienart. ISBN 978-2-35906-255-7.
  5. ↑ Visconti, Carlo Ludovico (1889). "Una testa di Augusto". Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma. 17: 140–144.
  6. ↑ "Augustus wearing the Corona Civica | Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases". museum.classics.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  7. ↑ "Augustus". collections.mfa.org. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  8. ↑ "Rome, the Eternal City: Masterpieces from the Capitoline Museums' Collection｜TOKYO METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM". TOKYO METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  9. ↑ "Roma, Rome, The Eternal City, Masterpieces from the Capitoline Museums' Collection List of Works" (PDF). Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. September 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Roma, the Eternal City Junior Guide" (PDF). Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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