Lot Essay
This impressive marble bust is after the celebrated antique original in the Vatican Museums, Rome. Known as the Jupiter of Otricoli, it was discovered during excavations financed by Pope Pius VI in 1775 in the town of that name, 70 km north of Rome. Immediately a popular subject, it remains an appealing depiction of the father of the ancient gods, imbued as he is with a sense of power conveyed by the strong facial features, the thick neck and the deeply carved, leonine hair.