Augustus

This idealised portrait of Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, captures him in his youth. The original, housed in the Vatican’s Pio Clementino Museum, was likely sculpted to promote Augustus as a divinely favoured leader. His calm expression and smooth features reflect the political messaging of the early Empire: order, renewal and continuity. This copy may have been produced for the Grand Tour market, when wealthy European travellers collected classical art to demonstrate their taste and education. These replicas helped spread Roman imperial imagery far beyond its ancient borders. It was presented to the University of Leeds by Mr B Wilson in 1920, along with a bust of Marcus Aurelius. It had cost £20, including carriage from Rome. By 1937 it was in an office store.