Bust of a young man
- Date de création
- Approximately AD 120
- Material
- Göktepe marble, district 4 (Turkey)
- Dimensions
- H. 63 x l. 43 x P. 26 (cm)
- Inventory number
- Ra 73 a
This bust is one of the finest portraits of a stranger in the collection owned by the Musée Saint-Raymond. The type of hairstyle is inspired by those of representations of Trajan; but the hair has more volume, and the locks are wavier and more lifelike, and herald the portraits of Hadrian.
A few elements allow us to date it with greater accuracy. These include the absence of irises and pupils on the eyes, details that were originally added using paint, a practice now no longer implemented. It was not until around 130 that these details were carved onto the eyes of statues, yet here the eyes are smooth. This work cannot therefore have been made any later. An additional consideration is the shape of the bust itself: any representation of the upper abdomen is absent, as on a bust of Hadrian at the 
British Museum which has been dated to between 118 and 121, or even 119 to be more precise (the third consulate of the emperor). Therefore, a date close to 120 seems to be the most feasible.
It is impossible to identify this outstanding portrait, although one unfortunately very damaged head from the Quirinal Palace in Rome could represent the same person. This means that this young boy was important. Of course, this type of portrait, with its heroic pose (the bared torso) and the boy’s young age cannot be equated with that of a high-ranking imperial official, as was the case at the end of the 2nd and 3rd centuries for several « private » portraits found in Chiragan. Yet the very existence of a replica in Rome proves the close relationship between the villa and the « seat of power ».
According to J.-C. Balty 2012, Les portraits romains, 1 : Le siècle des Antonins, 1.2 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse, p. 119-130.
Bibliography
- Balty, Cazes 2005 J.-C. Balty, D. Cazes, Les portraits romains, 1 : Époque julio-claudienne, 1.1 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse. p. 44, fig. 15
- Balty, Cazes, Rosso 2012 J.-C. Balty, D. Cazes, E. Rosso, Les portraits romains, 1 : Le siècle des Antonins, 1.2 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse. p.13-14, fig. 1-3, p.121-127,129-130, fig.46-58
- Cazes et al. 1999 D. Cazes, E. Ugaglia, V. Geneviève, L. Mouysset, J.-C. Arramond, Q. Cazes, Le Musée Saint-Raymond : musée des Antiques de Toulouse, Toulouse-Paris. p. 123
- Daltrop 1958 G. Daltrop, Die stadtrömischen männlichen Privatbildnisse Trajanischer und Hadrianischer Zeit, Münster. p. 129
- Espérandieu 1908 É. Espérandieu, Recueil général des bas-reliefs de la Gaule romaine, 2. Aquitaine, Paris. p. 89, no 998
- Joulin 1901 L. Joulin, Les établissements gallo-romains de la plaine de Martres-Tolosane, Paris. p. 332, pl. XVII, no 258
- Massendari 2006 J. Massendari, La Haute-Garonne : hormis le Comminges et Toulouse 31/1 (Carte archéologique de la Gaule), Paris. p. 243, fig 105
- Musée Saint-Raymond 2011 Musée Saint-Raymond, L’image et le pouvoir : le siècle des Antonins. Exhibition, Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse, 19 November 2011 - 18 March 2012, Toulouse. p. 78-79
- Musée Saint-Raymond 1995 Musée Saint-Raymond, Le regard de Rome : portraits romains des musées de Mérida, Toulouse et Tarragona. Exhibition, Mérida, Museo nacional de arte romano ; Toulouse, Musée Saint-Raymond ; Tarragone, Museu nacional arqueològic de Tarragona, 1995, Toulouse. no 157
To cite this notice
Capus P., "Bust of a young man", in The sculptures of the roman villa of Chiragan, Toulouse, 2019, online <https://villachiragan.saintraymond.toulouse.fr/en/ark:/87276/a_ra_73_a>.