Roman Marble Portrait of Drusus the Younger

13 B.C.-23 A.D.

13 3/4 in. (15.15 kg total, 35 cm high including stand).

Finely carved bust of Drusus, son of Emperor Tiberius; the hair shaped in a mop of short locks combed forward towards the brow; the features adolescent with soft lips and smooth skin; the nose chipped; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Provenance

Previously mounted in an 18th–19th century bust.
Private collection, Northern England, acquired in the 1980s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13361- 259006.

Literature

Cf. Berouilli, Griechische Ikonographie, 1901, cat.no 11; a bust of Drusus in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, depicts him somewhat later in his life and wearing a sagum military cloak fastened with an umbonate brooch; Scarpati, G., ‘Il ritratto di Druso Minore dal ciclo statuario Giulio-Claudio di Sessa Aurunca,’ in Bollettino d’Arte, 24 Ottobre-Dicembre, 2014, Anno XCIX, serie VII, pp.29-38, figs.1,12 (portraits of Cleveland and Grosseto).

Footnotes

The facial features of the sculpture reveal the physiognomic characteristics of a Julio-Claudian prince; specifically, Drusus the Younger, supported by comparisons with coin portraits.

CONDITION

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LOT 0113