I was visiting the Capitolini Museum in Rome last week and this statue caught my attention, It was sad that I couldn't find more information about it but I hope someone could identify it or give more information about it!
Asked
Active
Viewed 324 times
4
-
1Today I learned that google reverse image search isn't nearly as useful for pictures of 3-dimensional objects as it is for pictures of 2-dimensional objects. – T.E.D. Sep 24 '21 at 20:30
-
Do you remember the part or even the room of musei capitolini where the bust is displayed? The musei consist of several parts (Palazzo Nuovo, Palazzo dei Conservatori and so on). I guess it's somewhere in Palazzo Nuovo, but i'm not sure. – tohuwawohu Sep 25 '21 at 07:54
-
1Found it myself - Palazzo Nuovo, Stanzette Terrene, Room A - Ritratto femminile Coll. Albani MC696. Sadly, i didn't find any information about this item. – tohuwawohu Sep 25 '21 at 08:19
-
1Some more information: http://museicapitolini.net/object.xql?urn=urn:collectio:0001:scu:00696 – tohuwawohu Sep 25 '21 at 08:32
1 Answers
9
Based on the sparse information available regarding the bust, I fear it's impossible to identify the person portrayed. The two main reasons are:
We don't know how the bust looked like originally. It's restored / reworked, as already stated by Henry Stuart Jones' "A catalogue of the ancient sculptures preserved in the municipal collections of Rome". He describes the bust's state as follows:
H. ,67 m., head ,44 m. Luna marble. Restored: forehead and hair above it, eyes, nose, part of cheeks, other small patches, foot. Head much broken; was made to set in a statue.
Even more important: we don't know where the bust was found / excavated, thus we don't have any context. The bust was part of the antiquities collection of Alessandro Albani, cardinal and collector of Roman antiquities, since an unknown date. In 1733, the bust was sold to Pope Clement XII as part of a collection. Since then, it's part of the collection of the Capitoline Museums. The inventory of the Albani collection sold to Clement XII names the bust as "Testa di Donna Augusta" which isn't helpful in any way. The Inventory of the Albani collection is available in the work by Henry Stuart Jones mentioned above.
Maybe, there's some more information in the newer Work by Fittschen / Zanker: "Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom", which isn't available to me.
Sources:
- Capitoline Museums Record Scu.696
- Description by Henry Stuart Jones (ed.) "A catalogue of the ancient sculptures preserved in the municipal collections of Rome" (p. 307 No. 69, "Roman female portrait")
tohuwawohu
- 3,346
- 26
- 31