Statue of Trebonianus Gallus. Rome, 251-253. Bronze

The statue has been recomposed from many pieces and the surface of both head and body has been covered with gesso and paint. It was restored in Florence before 1848, and later in the nineteenth century by Penelli of Paris; it was taken apart and reconstructed again by Andre in Paris before 1905. Both modern and ancient repairs are visible. The following appear to be modern: drapery over left shoulder and left arm; upper section of upper right arm with part of shoulder; right hand; a piece of upper back, the genitals, and both feet including support below left heel. Head appears ancient but is smaller in scale than the colossal torso. Although the head appears on the statue in a drawing reproduced in 1852 (Koehne), it is possible they did not originate together.

The head can be securely identified as a portrait of the emperor Caius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus through comparison with his coin portraits (Delbrueck, 1940, p. 93, pi. 11). Characteristic is the short, squarish face with pointed chin and hook nose. The short hair is cut squarely across the forehead, and the full, clipped beard begins high over the cheekbones. The high, furrowed brow, which gives the portrait its intense expression, can also be found in some of the coin portraits. Among other sculptures in the round considered to be portraits of Trebonianus Gallus, the bronze head in Florence (Felletti Maj, 1958, no. 261) is closest to this one, though the Florence portrait lacks the power of expression seen here. Both portraits recall earlier Roman realism in their emphasis on harsh linear surface detail. The brow is distorted and the face largely asymmetrical. The hair and beard are rendered by short chisel strokes that convey movement by swirling patterns. The abrupt glance to the left catches an impression of momentary energy.

The head dominates the nude statue, which is in the classical pose of a Greek god or hero. The right arm is raised in the traditional Roman gesture of the orator addressing citizens or troops.

The statue was reportedly found in pieces with its pedestal in a hall, perhaps of a military camp, in the vicinity of S. Giovanni in Laterano, by Count Nicolas Nikivitch Demidov in the early nineteenth century. In 1828 it passed to his son, and in 1848 Count A. de Montferrand took it to St. Petersburg, where it remained until it was sold to Rollin and Feuardent in Paris. It was bought by the Museum in 1905.

bibliography: Koehne, 1852, pp. 2-9, no. 1, pis. i-п; Felletti Maj, 1958, no. 260; J. and J. C. Baity, 1966, pp. 542-545, pi. v, fig. 2.