Portrait of Julius Caesar
Marble.18th century (?).
Height 35 cm. Inv. No. 1818,0110.3.London, British Museum
Portrait of Julius Caesar.
Marble.
18th century (?).
Height 35 cm.
18th century (?).
Height 35 cm.
Inv. No. 1818,0110.3.
London, British Museum.
Origin:
From Rome. Acquired by the British Museum from the well-known collector James Millingen in 1818.
Description:
Modern marble head of Julius Caesar, the head is slightly thrust forwards and facing to its left with a keen expression, the pupils of the eyes are strongly marked; his hair is combed to the front, a device according to Suetonius that was used when his baldness became ridiculed. Although the bust probably dates to the 18th century it closely resembles portraits which are believed to give a fairly accurate idea of Caesar’s appearance.
British Museum (2019)
Acquired by the British Museum from the well-known collector James Millingen in 1818, this strongly individualised head was for a long period the most famous and widely reproduced portrait of Julius Caesar in Britain. By 1961, however, it had been concluded that it was a forgery and Bernard Ashmole, in a lecture given that year, pointed out that the surface had been artificially weathered, perhaps by pounding with a nail-studded piece of wood, and stained to produce an impression of age. He concluded that it probably was made in Rome about 1800.
M. Jones (1990)
Literature:
Ashmole B. Forgeries of Ancient Sculpture in marble: creation and detection. Oxford 1961.
Jones M., Craddock P., Barker N. Fake? The Art of Deception. London, 1990. P. 148.
Pryce F. N, Smith A. H. Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum. Vol. I—III. London, 1892.
Jones M., Craddock P., Barker N. Fake? The Art of Deception. London, 1990. P. 148.
Pryce F. N, Smith A. H. Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum. Vol. I—
Credits:
(cc) 2019. Photo, text: The British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
© 1990. Description (2): Jones M., Craddock P., Barker N. Fake? The Art of Deception. London, 1990. P. 148.
© 1990. Description (2): Jones M., Craddock P., Barker N. Fake? The Art of Deception. London, 1990. P. 148.
Keywords: απεικόνιση portrait portraiture ritratto ritrattistica porträtmalerei porträt of a man male maschile uomo männliches mann masculin un homme porträtbüste portraitkopf roman romana römisches romain romano römischer δικτάτορα γάιος ιούλιος καίσαρ dictator gaius julius caesar caius iulius dittatore gaio giulio cesare diktator cäsar dictateur jules césar σύγχρονη γλυπτική sculptura modern sculpture scultura moderna moderne skulptur γλυπτική sculptural ρωμαϊκό romani römisch römische römischen romaine romains romaines προτομή bust busto büste buste κεφάλι κεφαλή head testa kopf tête marble marmo marmor marbre μάρμαρο work opera werk ouvrage fake forgery imitazione fälschung contrefaçon imitation inv no 1818 0110 3
