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From Nero To Vespasian Two Re-Carved Marble Portraits in Lucus Feroniae
From Nero To Vespasian Two Re-Carved Marble Portraits in Lucus Feroniae
2017
ANALYSIS
ARCHAEOLOGICA
AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WESTERN
MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY
volume 3 – 2017
EDIZIONI QUASAR
ANALYSIS
ARCHAEOLOGICA
AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WESTERN
MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY
volume 3 – 2017
EDIZIONI QUASAR
Editor in Chief
Salvatore De Vincenzo (Viterbo)
Associate Editors
Stefano De Angeli (Viterbo); Alessandro Naso (Roma);
Monika Trümper (Berlin)
Editorial Board
Judy Barringer (Edinburgh); Martin Bentz (Bonn);
Johannes Bergemann (Göttingen); Chiara Blasetti Fantauzzi (Göttingen);
Jacopo Bonetto (Padova); Fabio Colivicchi (Kingston);
Matteo D’Acunto (Napoli); Gian Maria Di Nocera (Viterbo);
Filippo Demma (Ancona); Johanna Fabricius (Berlin); Marco
Galli (Roma); Klaus Geus (Berlin); Erich Kistler (Innsbruck);
Enzo Lippolis (Roma); Carlos Márquez Moreno (Córdoba);
Attilio Mastino (Sassari); Marina Micozzi (Viterbo); Raffaella
Pierobon (Napoli); Silvia Polla (Berlin); Chiara Elisa Portale (Palermo);
Jonathan Prag (Oxford); Christoph Reusser (Zürich);
Thomas Schäfer (Tübingen); Stephan Schmid (Berlin);
Gianluca Soricelli (Campobasso); Enrico Angelo Stanco (Napoli);
Tesse Stek (Leiden); Nicola Terrenato (Ann Arbor); Stephan Verger (Paris);
Raimondo Zucca (Sassari)
Editorial Staff
Maria Amodio (Napoli); Gian Franco Chiai (Berlin); Anca
Dan (Paris); Sabatino Martello (Napoli); Cristina Murer
(Berlin); Salvatore Sindoni (Viterbo)
ISSN 2421-6380
ISBN 978-88-7140-952-8
www.edizioniquasar.it
Contents
4 Contents
From Nero to Vespasian.
Two re-carved marble portraits in Lucus Feroniae
Armando Cristilli
AbstrAct
Reworking of marble portraits in Roman age is an interesting occurrence, because
of its related cultural, aesthetical and technical implications. Two refashioned marble
portraits of Vespasian found at Lucus Feroniae (one well-know, the other one less fa-
mous) are case studies focusing on this topic very well. However, they clearly indicate
not only the technical skills of the local sculptors, but also provide significant data in
reconstructing the history of the colony and of the Volusii Saturnini family between the
Nero’s principate and the early Flavian age.
Keywords: Vespasian, portrait, reworking, Lucus Feroniae, Nero, Aedes Genii coloni-
ae, Volusii Saturnini.
1
See, e.g., Pollini 1984, 547–548.
2
Pollini – Storage 2010, 23.
3
Prusac 2011, 33.
4
I recently wrote about the unofficial Caligula’s damnation in Cristilli 2018.
5
There are at least 120 refashioned portraits of these emperors in all media. Varner 2010, 45.
6
Bianchi 2014.
7
Pollini – Storage 2010, 32.
8
Hedrick 2000, 89–130; Flower 2006; Pollini – Storage 2010, 24.
9
Varner 2008.
10
About this family belonging to the Senate order, originally coming from Picenum and
owner of the sumptuous suburban villa at 400 m NE of Lucus Feroniae, see, e.g., Volusii Sa-
turnini 1982; Cristilli 2018.
11
About the types of Nero portraits, see: Hiesinger 1975; Bergmann – Zanker 1981, 321–
332; Maggi 1986, 47–50; Boschung 1993, 76–77; Welch 2002, 134–139; Maderna 2010; Var-
ner 2010, 55; Cadario 2011.
38 Armando Cristilli
The first refashioned Vespasian’s portrait12 is the very famous so called
“Lucus Feroniae type”, considered by Bartoccini “uno dei migliori, se non
addirittura il migliore dei suoi ritratti finora pervenutoci”13, which has been
always considered by the scholars for both aesthetic and technical-stylistic
reasons14 (figs. 2-3). According to Varner, the head belonged to a togato stat-
ue15.
It might had easily been placed in the porch of the Forum square, but it
is also plausible in another location, from which it would have been moved
in the modern age perhaps to be burnt and calcined: however, at the moment
we have no data to resolve this issue. The portrait, carved in a high-quality
Parian marble, is characterized by a cold and atone look and its face is asym-
metrical respect to the axis of the oval: it has been included in the so called “II
type” of Vespasian’s portraits, maybe derived from an image created before
his elevation to the principate16 from a Nero’s portraits of the “IV type”17. But
the very obvious detail in this sculpture is the small space occupied by its
Fig. 2. Vespasian portrait. Capena. Lu-
face within the general cranial volume beyond the excessive fullness of the
cus Feroniae Antiquarium, Inv. 91118 temples, which gives an increased flaring upwards to the head. Few years ago
(MiBACT-MN-ETRU DSC03010)
reworking of this portrait has been disputed for some evidences18: a) the face
doesn’t seem to be compressed with respect to the neck; b) its dimensions
and proportions appear to be correct; c) there are no traces of haircuts of
a previous portrait (of Emperor Nero); d) in the back of the head there is a
roughness of the marble, with defects and natural fractures; e) there are no
traces of marble stucco. About these matters, I think it had been reworked
saving a lot of the character of the original likeness, in according with all
scholars. I suppose so it is, especially because its face appears much small
and contracted than the available surface of the head and what’s more on the
back side, as well as behind the ears, it still has got traces of the typical hair
of the “IV type” of Nero’s portraits: then, only reworking could explain the
Lucus Feroniae portrait’s unnatural appearance, because this kind of alter-
ation reduces the mass of the image, producing proportional anomalies19. In
Fig. 3. Vespasian portrait (backside). addition, there is also the roughened surface of the marble on the top of the
Capena. Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, Inv. skull, creating a rippling effect, surely to eliminate all traces of primary curly
91118 (foto Autore)
locks by re-cutting, and the marble stucco is missing because it had worsen
and fallen out. Furthmore, the previously mouth had been preserved, except
for two incisions on the sides to make it more suitable for an older man than
for a young. By the way, it’s sure an excellent and apprentice sculptor had
refashioned this portrait, so the result is the high quality esthetic and techni-
cal level of the head. The final proof of reworking of this first sculpture from
12
Capena, Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, inv. 91118; inv. fot. MiBACT-MN-ETRU 5053
and 34065; white marble; h. 31cm; from Lucus Feroniae - Forum Portico (4/11/1953). Varner
2004, 52–53 and 243, n° 2.22, fig. 46 (with complete litterateur); E. Rosso in: Coarelli 2009,
Cat. 9, p. 413; Pollini – Storage 2010, 32–33.
13
Bartoccini 1961, 254.
14
Varner 2000, 12; Varner 2004, 52–53 e 243, n° 2.22, fig. 46; E. Rosso in: Coarelli 2009, Cat.
9, 413 (with complete litterateur); Pollini – Storage 2010, 32–33; Prusac 2011, 134.
15
Varner 2004, 53.
16
For the status quaestionis about the Vespasian’s portraits, see: Welch 2002, 138–140; E.
Rosso in: Coarelli 2009, 403; but also P. Zanker in: Coarelli 2009, 62; Raeder 2010; Rosso 2010,
178–186.
17
E.g. E. Rosso in: Coarelli 2009, 413.
18
Pollini 1984, 551; Pollini – Storage 2010, 32–33.
19
About this visual result, see Pollini 1984, 548; Varner 2010, 45.
20
The question about the existence of two distinct types or a ‘variant’ of a single type for
Vespasian’s portrait is still open. In my opinion, the Paladini’s theory (according to the
scholar, there is only one type of portrait with two different results depending on whether the
portrait is recut or unrecut) is still now the most reliable. Paladini 1981.
21
Vespasian’s sculptural propaganda was concentrated to express the noble virtues (even
military) and the legacy of new emperor, showing how he had distanced himself from Nero
and how the Flavians’ efforts had brought the peace to the Empire. In this way, even through
his new portrait type Vespasian legitimated its sovereignty: moreover, as can be seen on the
bases of Suetonius, he was a simply farmer who had risen to the position of emperor and he
always remained a honest man, very close to his family’s origins, whose quality was a lack of
greed of money; he looked himself like a boor, but he never was ashamed of his himble-ex-
traction or his nickname “the mule track”. Suet., Vesp., 8 and 286.
22
Welch 2002, 140.
23
E. Rosso in: Coarelli 2009, 402–403.
24
Moreover, Varner had already noted that Nero’s youthful images were mostly trans-
formed into the idealized portraits of Vespasian, although remained the distinction in two
types of his portraiture. Varner 2004, 52 (especially note 69).
25
Capena, Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, inv. 118381; white marble; h. 31cm; from Lucus
Feroniae – Aedes Genii coloniae (January 6 1959); bibl.: Daltrop et alii1966, 15 and 80, tav. 8c;
Bergmann – Zanker 1981, 333; Moretti Sgubini 1982-84, 105–106.
26
Daltrop et alii 1966, 15 and 80, tav. 8c; Moretti Sgubini 1982-84, 105–106.
27
About the new identification of the building, Stanco 2017.
28
Moretti Sgubini 1982-84, 106, note 75.
40 Armando Cristilli
Fig. 4. Vespasian portrait. Capena. Lucus Fero-
niae Antiquarium, Inv. 118381 (MiBACT-MN-
ETRU DSC5176)
Fig. 5. Vespasian portrait (right side). Capena.
Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, Inv. 118381 (Mi-
BACT-MN-ETRU DSC5178)
Fig. 6. Vespasian portrait (left side). Capena.
Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, Inv. 118381 (Mi-
BACT-MN-ETRU DSC5173)
Fig. 7. Vespasian portrait (back side). Capena.
Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, Inv. 118381 (Mi-
BACT-MN-ETRU DSC5172)
Fig. 8. Vespasian portrait (from above). Ca-
pena. Lucus Feroniae Antiquarium, Inv. 118381
(MiBACT-MN-ETRU DSC5182)
29
This is a well-known technique in a marble plastic of the Roman age. Pollini – Storage
2010, 33–34 and 37–38; Varner 2010, 47.
30
Varner 2004, 53.
31
For no reason A.M. Moretti Sgubini defined incorrectly these curls as degraded (“radi”).
Moretti Sgubini 1982-84, 106, note 75.
32
In regards to this a very significant example is the famous head in the Cleveland Museum
of Art. Pollini 1984, 348–552; Pollini – Storage 2010, 31–33.
33
Moretti Sgubini 1982-84, 107, note 75.
42 Armando Cristilli
pasian to survive politically. On the contrary, because at the beginning these
two heads represented Nero, we must be certain that under the reign of this
emperor more than the other that this Roman colony (and its patroni) must
have lived a period of prosperous vitality.
references
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gresso Internazionale di Archeologia Classica (Roma 1961) 249–256.
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beitete Nero- und Domitiansporträts. Zur Ikonographie der flavischen Kaiser
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Boschung 1993: D. Boschung, Die Bildnistypen der iulisch-claudischen Kaiserfamilie:
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Address
44 Armando Cristilli