Monumental Bronze Bust of a Roman Emperor, 20th Century

Impressive bronze bust depicting a Roman emperor, created during the 20th century and inspired by the great portrait sculptures of Imperial Rome. Executed on a monumental scale, the ...

A charming and decorative Spanish weathervane from the 1950s, crafted from painted metal. This vintage piece features a classic design, making it an excellent addition to gardens, ro...

Elegant Greek-style bust sculpture created during the second half of the 20th century, inspired by classical antiquity and likely based on a celebrated museum model. Executed in reco...

Impressive bust of a Roman emperor, created in the early 20th century and inspired by the celebrated portrait sculptures of Imperial Rome. This finely executed work captures the dign...

Grand Tour Bronze Portrait Bust of a Roman Emperor. Bust features a bronze draped male figure with his toga secured at each shoulder with folds crisply defined and cascading naturall...

17th-century cast bronze cabinet bust depicting a noble or classical dignitary draped in the antique manner, presented on a slender iron rod and mounted on a turned ebonized wood cyl...

19th century bronze bust of young emperor. This object is shipped from Italy. Under existing legislation, any object in Italy created over 70 years ago by an artist who has died re...

North Italian, 16th century Bust of the emperor Vitellius Bronze, on later bronze socle, lead support to reverse 18 cm. / 7 ins (the bust), 23 cm. / 9 ins overall This fine and apparently unique all’antica Renaissance bronze is inspired by a bust in Venice thought to depict the Roman emperor Vitellius (15-69 AD), who ruled for only eight months in 69 AD before he was overthrown by Vespasian. The Vitellio Grimani, also known as the pseudo-Vitellius, was discovered in Rome in 1505 during excavations on the Quirinale on land owned by the Venetian cardinal Domenico Grimani (1461-1523). On the death of Grimani the Vitellius was sent to Venice and bequeathed to the Republic of Venice, where it was displayed at the Palazzo Ducale from 1525 to 1593. It is now in the Museo arceologico nazionale di Venezia (inv. 20) and regarded as a portrait of an unknown Roman from the first half of the second century AD. The present small bust, with its rough, waxy surface and imaginative adaptation of the antique model on which it is based, bears all the hallmarks of Renaissance bronze modelling in the north of Italy. Indeed, the vigorous modelling is reminiscent of the works by Andrea Briosco, called Il Riccio (1470-1532), who worked in Padua in the Veneto and specialised in small bronzes based on antique subjects. See, for example, his head of Bacchus (private collection, offered at Sotheby’s London in 2021), which has a similarly waxy treatment of the hair. The fantastical lion-mask on the breastplate, with its stylised face and unusual braids of hair, is also typical of the imaginative re-working of antique motifs by Renaissance artists. This indicates that the present bust is probably by a follower of Riccio working in Padua or another centre of classicism in the Veneto. RELATED LITERATURE: L. Planiscig, 'Andrea Riccio...