Marble torso of Roman emperor sells for record £25m
The early first‑century marble torso presents a tunic‑clad Julio‑Claudian emperor, his breastplate adorned with the sun‑god Sol emerging from the ocean. Its remarkable state of preservation and striking visual impact have long made it a centerpiece of scholarly interest.
Having remained in a private collection since 2010, the piece was offered at Sotheby’s in New York. A fierce fourteen‑minute bidding war pushed the hammer far beyond the £6‑9 million estimate, closing at £21 million and, with auction fees, totaling £25.6 million.
That price establishes a fresh world record for a Roman antiquity, eclipsing the previous high of £21.4 million set by a bronze Artemis and the Stag in 2007. The torso is celebrated for its fine carving, suggesting it was reproduced from an original bronze model.
Critics highlight the razor‑sharp details—from the overlapping leather strips to the subtle sense of movement—as evidence of a highly skilled Roman workshop that merged Greek artistic traditions with imperial propaganda, projecting the supremacy of Rome to all who beheld it two millennia ago.