| Bust of Antinous | |
|---|---|
 The bust in 2011 | |
| Completion date | Head: c. 130–140 AD |
| Medium | Marble |
| Subject | Antinous |
| Location | British Museum,London, United Kingdom |
| Accession | 1805,0703.97 |
TheTownley Antinous is amarble portrait head of the Greek youthAntinous, the boyfriend or lover of theRoman EmperorHadrian, wearing anivywreath. It is now part of the collection of London'sBritish Museum, and was part of theTownley Marbles.[1] Only the head is ancient, once belonging to statue dating fromc. 130–140 and the late reign ofHadrian (r. 117–138); the bust is a modern addition.[2] The portrait probably shows the youth asDionysus–Bacchus.[2] The bust was acquired along with the rest of the antiquities collected by 18th-centuryGrand Tourist andFellow of the Royal Society,Charles Townley. A drawing of the bust attributed toVincenzo Pacetti is also in the museum's collection.[3]
The head, carved fromParian marble, was believed to have been found on theJaniculum hill near theVilla Doria Pamphili inRome in 1770, in an area then known asItalian:Tenuta della Tedesca,lit. 'Germanwoman's estate'.[2] It and the remains of the statue to which it belonged were found used asspolia in a roadside wall near thePorta San Pancrazio, a gate in theAurelian Walls.[2] Townley bought the head in July 1773 fromThomas Jenkins, theantiquary and art dealer, for £150. The head was already in Britain by June 1774, probably having been owned previously byJohn Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, from whom Jenkins wrote in July 1773 that it was "to be received".[2]
Media related toBust of Antinous, from Janiculum (BM Sc1899) at Wikimedia Commons | This article about a sculpture in the United Kingdom is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
