Live Auction 3773Living With Art
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF EMPEROR SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lot 273 A PRIVATE COLLECTION FROM A MONTECITO ESTATE

A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF EMPEROR SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS

REIGN 193-211 A.D.

Closed8 October 2015

Price Realised

USD 30,000

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A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF EMPEROR SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
REIGN 193-211 A.D.
Depicted lifesized, his hair a mass of thick curls, with a broad forehead, his eyebrows incised, with heavy upper lids above large, almond-shaped, convex eyes, the pupils articulated, with a full mustache and his characteristic beard divided at the center of his chin
11 in. (27.9 cm.) high

with Jürgen Haering, Freiburg, 1986.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, Los Angeles, 1987.
Dr. James D. Briglio, Dearborn Heights, Michigan, acquired from the above in 1987.

Specialist note

193 A.D. is known in Roman history as the "Year of the Five Emperors." After the murder of Marcus Aurelius' son Commodus, five different claimants emerged for the title of the next emperor. Lucius Septimius Severus (reigned 193-211 A.D.) emerged victorious and became the 20th emperor of Rome. Born in Leptis Magna, North Africa, and a veteran of several campaigns along the frontier of the empire, he sought to solidify his power within Rome by linking his family and future dynasty with that of the Antonines. In 196 A.D. he had himself retroactively adopted into the Antonine family. He then had his young son, Caracalla, declared Caesar in order to ensure his succession, founding the Severan dynasty that would rule the empire for the next 30 years.