The Paus Trajan is a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

portrait head of the Roman emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

, who ruled from 98 to 117 AD. It is part of the

Paus collection The Paus collection () is a collection of classical sculpture that mostly forms part of the National Museum of Norway, and previously of its predecessor, the National Gallery. The collection was created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by p ...

of the

National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design The National Museum (, officially the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design) is a museum in Oslo, Norway which holds the Norwegian state's public collection of art, architecture, and design objects. The collection totals over 400,000 w ...

in Oslo, Norway. The Paus collection, the largest private collection of ancient Roman art in Northern Europe, was donated by papal chamberlain, art collector and count Christopher Tostrup Paus to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

from 1918.

History

It is made of fine crystalline white marble, and has a height 32.7 cm. It was reworked during Trajan's reign from an older portrait, possibly a portrait of

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

(81–96 AD), and is a

Decennalia Decennalia or Decennia (Latin for "10th Anniversary") were Ancient Roman festivals celebrated with games every ten years by the Roman emperors. The festival owed its origin to the fact that in 27 BC, Augustus refused the supreme power offered t ...

type portrait of Trajan, one of around fifty surviving busts of him and one of several Decennalia portraits of him. The bust was acquired by Christopher Tostrup Paus who amassed the largest private collection of ancient Roman art in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. Paus spent several years in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where he was appointed a papal chamberlain and count. From 1918 he donated large parts of the collection to the National Gallery, with additional donations in the following years, including the Trajan portrait in 1923. It was the first original Roman imperial portrait in Norwegian ownership.

Samson Eitrem Samson Eitrem (28 December 1872 – 8 July 1966) was a Norwegian philologist, an expert in ancient literature, religion and magic. Personal life Eitrem was born in Kragerø to Samson Eitrem (1832–1923) and Anine Marie Nielsen, and he was a bro ...

wrote that "it excellently complements the other portraits of the Paus collection, busts which for the most part belong to the earliest imperial period." From 1923 to 2019 the portrait was on display on the first floor of the old National Gallery building, until being moved to the new National Museum building that opened in 2022.

published a catalogue of the Paus collection and other ancient sculptures with a detailed description of the bust in 1927.

References

{{reflist Cultural depictions of Trajan Sculptures of men Paus family Ancient Roman sculpture