HIGH PRIORITY PROJECT

Giovanni Volpato found the sculpture during the excavations in 1780 on the Quadraro estate, located outside Porta San Giovanni, between the Via Appia and the Via Tuscolana. Purchased by Pope Pius VI in 1781, Ferdinando Lisandroni restored the head, integrated all the hair, the tip of the nose, and made the monumental bust as the base. Ennio Quirino Visconti selected the portrait for the Sala Rotonda of the Pio Clementino Museum, where it still stands today. Visconti identified it as Giulia Domna, wife of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), of Syrian origin and an influential adviser to her husband. Recent bibliography has superseded this hypothesis. The face, with highly idealized somatic features, includes large eyes, thick eyebrows, a slightly aquiline nose, and a small mouth with full lips. Such features suggest the identity belongs to Giulia Domna’s sister, Giulia Mesa, or the latter’s daughter, Giulia Sohemia, mother of Emperor Elagabalus (218-222 A.D.). Nevertheless, she is undoubtedly an imperial princess of the Severi family that ruled Rome between the end of the second and the first decades of the 3rd century A.D.

TOTAL COST: € 14.833,92  ($ 15,851.52)

The sculpture appears very opaque and darkened due to the presence of consistent deposits. There are areas with stains of various kinds and inhomogeneities on the surface of the head (of ancient workmanship) and the bust (of modern age). There are also cracks, fractures, and lacunae.

• Dry removal of incoherent deposits with micro vacuum cleaners, paint brushes and drills
• A cleaning plan will follow analytical testing
• Refinishing of the cleaning with scalpels, brushes, and precision micro drills
• Reintegration with stucco and micro stucco work in suitable materials compatible with the original
• Eventual localized chromatic balancing to restore harmony to read the work
• Eventual application of a final protective coat