Roman bust of Emperor Nero – original size
Hardly any other Roman Emperor raises so much controversy than Nero, son of Agrippina. By his contemporaries, he was ridiculed, even panned, and until today it is said to be him, who should have set fire to Rome. Research now often takes a different path: he is seen as the often misunderstood, slightly insane but basically harmless son of a vicious and power-hungry mother who ensured by a late wedding with Emperor Claudius, that her son from her previous marriage became the next Emperor.
- The original can be seen in Berlin, the Gutmann collection
- height incl. base approx. 45cm
Nero’s term of office
During his tenure, Nero is less known for his political calculations and military sophistication, but rather for his many travel to Greece and a flair for the dramatic arts. This brought him much scorn of his fellow patricians. During his reign, Nero succeeded to make himself ever more powerful men enemies. So it happened that at the end a new emperor was proclaimed, and Nero took his own life.
The portrait of Emperor Nero
The portraits of Nero (his name was later Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) follow the Julio Claudian tradition of the ageless, youthful and dynamic Emperor. Nero is usually shown without visible age trains, but he also strongly differs from the schema of his adoptive ancestors. His hair is much longer than the typical short hair of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius. The pony is not falling in ordinary small tongs and fork motifs in the forehead, as it is typical for the ruling house, but forms a wreath made of large sickle curls, which completely cover the face.
Nero develops his own, a new concept of the Empire. Although the new Government is now stable, still Nero is knwon as a late adoptive son of the equally unpopular Claudius. He, therefore, has to legitimize his claim to power.
Our replica bust of Nero
The replica of the bust of Nero in our Roman-Shop shows the head and face of the fascinating Emperor in his typical way. With an impressive height of 45 cm, it is made of high-quality Alabaster plaster, and created after an original model from the Berlin private Gutmann collection.
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