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Lot Essay
Flavius Vespasianus, or Vespasian, (9-79 AD) was made emperor on the strength of his military successes, and his reign marked an era of stability after the war-torn period under Nero (died 68 AD). The depiction of him here, with its powerful characterisation, transcends the bland representations one often finds on small-scale bronze busts of this period; the carefully modelled face is a real portrait of the emperor.
Stylistically, the bust is extremely close to a documented bust of Vespasian by Willem Danielsz. van Tetrode (1525-1588) which formed part of a series of twelve emperors originally created for the Count of Pitigliano, Gianfrancesco Orsini. Ultimately, that series did not enter Orsini's collection, but the busts were sent to Cosimo I de' Medici, and they are today in the Bargello, Florence (illustrated in Massinelli, loc. cit.).
Stylistically, the bust is extremely close to a documented bust of Vespasian by Willem Danielsz. van Tetrode (1525-1588) which formed part of a series of twelve emperors originally created for the Count of Pitigliano, Gianfrancesco Orsini. Ultimately, that series did not enter Orsini's collection, but the busts were sent to Cosimo I de' Medici, and they are today in the Bargello, Florence (illustrated in Massinelli, loc. cit.).