I Got A Picture Taken With a Roman Emperor

... or as close as realistically possible. Today I visited the Toledo Museum of Art and finally saw their famous marble bust of the emperor Domitian in the flesh (or parian marble).

I also brought along a sestertius of Domitian to compare portraits.










A nearby curator must've wondered what in the world I was doing when I pulled the coin below from my top pocket and posed with the bust.



Domitian
Æ Sestertius, 25.82g
Rome mint, 81 AD
RIC 78 (C2). BMC 261.
Obv: IMP CAES DIVI VESP F DOMITIAN AVG P M; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: TR P COS VII DES VIII P P; S C in field; Minerva stg. l., with spear
Acquired from Vilmar, December 2018.

Also, the Classical Room has this beautiful Roman mosaic in the centre.




I had a most enjoyable afternoon wandering around the fine collection of art, both ancient and modern. Best of all, admission is free! I highly recommend the next time you are in Toledo to check it out.

 

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That's cool and nice pics.

 

Nice...face to face with Domitian. Great pictures David.

 

Interesting that his bio states he was so hated that most images of him were destroyed - yet one survives in Toledo. Also states that he may be wearing a wig.

 

Excellent field trip! The hair curls on the marble bust are quite similar to those hair curls on your coin’s bust.

 

How fun! You'll have to go to the Capitoline Museum some time. Of course, they have so many busts that you'd have to bring your entire collection along with you!

 

Toledo, Spain or Toledo, Ohio? Looks a nice museum with good stuff and excellent explanation sign (don’t know about the receding jaw though). I do appreciate that gorgeous mosaic.

 

Sorry, Toledo, OH. It really is a world class art museum with so much to see.

This photo gives a better context of how the Domitian bust is displayed.



And here is one of my favourite paintings in the museum.



And I couldn't forget to get a photo of something my cat Hershey would appreciate.

 

Well, I collect only three emperors, so it would be quite doable!

 

Is that Lucius Verus on the right?

Great pictures!

 

Great pictures, David. I really need to get over to Toledo - it's not that far away from me. I'd heard rumors about their great art museum, but until I saw your photos, I had no idea it was that good.

 

Yes! There is also a great portrait bust opposite Domitian of a 'Flavian Lady' which for some inexplicable reason I didn't take a picture of.

 

Neither did I! My pictures don't do the museum justice. It is really worth a day trip whenever you get a chance.

 

Cool selfie with Domitian. Did he have any words of wisdom for you?

That L. Verus bust is nice as well.

 

Yes, 'You can never have enough mirrors!'.

 

You had Lucius Verus in the same display as Domitian and you didn't take a photo next to him? Sad.

Here's my Lucius Verus



and my latest Domitian....

 

One of my Domitian coins.

 

I visited the museum specifically to see the Domitian bust and had no idea there was a Lucius Verus bust too. Besides, I collect only Flavian coins and do not have a L.V. coin to pose with.

Perhaps another CTer with a L.V. coin can visit the TMA and pose with it?

 

That's a most beautiful Van Gogh painting! And I like Lucius Verus, too. But to return to Domitian, here's a portrait that is (if your take off Helios's golden rays) not unlike that marble bust.



AE Domitianus (81-96), Tralleis. Pseudo-autonomous. Kl. Meliton, magistrate. Obv.: Radiate and draped bust of Helios right, looking like Domitian. Rev.: Cult statue of Artemis-Ephesia facing. 18 mm, 4.06 gr. Tralleis is a town in the west of what's now Turkey, near Aydın.

 

Before I took anything old into a museum, I would contact them and see if I could avoid any ugliness with a guard who may not be aware that such things are not all in museums. Depending on the curator's attitude toward private collectors, you might meet someone interesting and even get a behind the scenes tour. My local museum has no Domitian marble but I did have an interesting talk about their Caligula (old) and Septimius Severus (various pieces with lots of restoration from a couple centuries ago).