Provenance:

Private Collection, London and Paris, 1970.

Ariadne Galleries, New York, acquired prior to 19 November 2013.

Marcus Ulpius Traianus ruled Rome from A.D. 98 to 117. Born at Italica in Hispania, he was the first emperor from outside Italy, and under him the empire reached its greatest extent. The Senate named him optimus princeps, “the best of rulers,” and later emperors were measured against him.

Trajan’s portraits vary little in their features. Since W. H. Gross’s study of 1940, scholars have distinguished his official portrait types mainly by the arrangement of the locks over the forehead.

Here the emperor wears a cuirass over a tunic, with fringed shoulder flaps and a gorgoneion on the breastplate. A deep fringe of crescent-shaped locks is combed in one direction across the brow, from the sitter’s left toward his right, with no central fork. This arrangement corresponds most closely to the type named after the cuirassed statue of Trajan from Ostia, which, like the present bust, presents him in armour as commander (K. Fittschen, “Traiano,” Enciclopedia dell’Arte Antica, Suppl. II, 1997).

For a similar example of Trajan in military dress, see the cuirassed statue from the Schola del Traiano, Ostia, Museo Ostiense, Inv. no. 23.

Inspected under UV light and 10x loupe. Surface exhibits root marks and scratches throughout, with areas of red and orange discoloration. Encrustation present, with pinkish, black, and white deposits visible within the curls of the hair and ears. Weathering evident, with notable loss to the nose and a section of the proper left ear. Notable gash to section of hair just above. Inscribed in red ink on the reverse (“S2111”?) Traces of old adhesive residue present. Overall in good and stable condition as preserved. See additional images. Height with stand 35 cm (13 3/4 inches).

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