Complete Description
Tête de jeune homme légèrement plus grande que nature, représentant l'empereur Tibère au visage juvénile, empreint d'idéalisme caractéristique de l'époque augustéenne. Le visage serein est tourné vers la gauche, la chevelure en mèches ondulées est très finement sculptée et l'épaule gauche est recouverte d'un drapé.
Extrémité du nez cassée, manques à la chevelure et éclats aux oreilles.
Haut. : 54,5 cm
Ancienne collection privée anglaise
Collection R.E, New York, jusqu'en 2004
Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 2005
Collection Michael Bianco, Californie
Bonhams, Londres, le 6 octobre 2010: n°160 (ill.)
Collection Christian Levett, Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins
Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), Mougins, France, Juin 2011-Août 2023
J. M. Eisenberg, Art of the Ancient World, Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, Janvier 2005, vol. XVI, pp. 12 et 13, fig. 15
J. Pollini, "A New Portrait Bust of Tiberius in the Collection of Michael Bianco", Babesch, 2008, vol. 83, pp. 149-154
J. Pollini, "Roman Marble Sculpture" in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, France, 2011, p. 97, fig. 44
Minerva: the International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology, Janvier/Février 2011, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 54, fig. 6
Nice-Matin, France, Juin 2016, no. 24904, p. 6
R. Leung, "From 4th-Century Greek Vases to Female Abstract Expressionism", Larry's List, 2022, [On-line]. Disponible à: https://www.larryslist.com/artmarket/the-talks/from-4th-century-greek-vases-to-female-abstract-expressionism/
This bust, in the great tradition of idealized Augustan portraits intended to disseminate imperial imagery, joins the list of similar examples preserved in museum collections in Florence, Ephesus, Munich, and Amsterdam.
According to art historian John Pollini, this bust belongs to the “Type IV” series of portraits of Tiberius, also known as the “Florence–Ephesus–Munich” type, created around AD 10 to commemorate Tiberius’ military victories in Illyria. It is part of a series of official representations of Tiberius, each associated with key stages of his political and military career.
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (42 BC – AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. Born in Rome, the son from Livia Drusilla’s first marriage, he was later adopted by Emperor Augustus. Upon Augustus’ death, he succeeded him as ruler of the empire. A talented military commander, he led successful campaigns particularly in Germania and Illyria, and his reign was marked by a centralization of power.
