The Golden One

Bust of Marcus Aurelius, Roman, 161–180 AD. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches et Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire, Etat de Vaud

Marcus Aurelius means "Mark, the Golden." Someone in the provincial capital of Aventicum (modern Avenches, Switzerland) took the Aurelius part literally, commissioning a gold bust of the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher. Weighing 3-1/2 pounds, the bust is hammered from a single sheet of gold. Large gold objects almost never survive from antiquity. This bust was found in a Roman-period sewer pipe in 1939. It's guessed that it was hidden there against an invasion of Germanic tribes, and whoever hid it never had a chance to retrieve it.

The bust is now on view at the Getty Villa in a one-room installation, "The Gold Emperor from Aventicum." This is a coup, not only because it's the first time it's been shown in this hemisphere. Though owned by the Musée romains d’Avenches, the bust is normally kept in a bank vault. The museum shows a gilded plaster replica in its place. The precaution is apparently justified, as clueless thieves have twice stolen the fake bust.

The Getty installation places the bust in the context of the Celtic settlement Aventicum, conquered by Julius Caesar and thoroughly assimilated into Roman life by the second century AD. Stone inscriptions and a small mosaic document the adoption of Roman culture. 

The gold bust combines new-money ostentation with a provincial pastiche of styles. For that reason, it took a while for scholars to identify the subject. It was misidentified as Antoninus Pius (Marcus' predecessor) and even proposed as medieval. It's now believed that the sculpture's elements copy different portraits, some dating from a century before Marcus Aurelius' reign. The haircut is wrong for Marcus. Though one eye is slightly higher than the other, the emperor's gaze is unusually symmetrical, distinguishing it from the more naturally posed Roman portraits of the time. This may be an accommodation so that the bust could be mounted on a pole and carried in processions. A brooch on the shoulder, probably in precious stone, is missing.

"The Gold Emperor from Aventicum" runs through Jan. 29, 2023.

Dedication to the Celtic Goddess Aventia, Honoring Titus Tertius Severus, about 200 AD. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches

Mosaic Panel with a Dolphin, 150-250 AD. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches

Side view of bust. Photo by Espandero, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0