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Getty Villa — The Villa Museum reopens June 27th. Reservations are now available.
One of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries of recent times is a nearly life-size gold bust of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius found at Aventicum (present-day Avenches, Switzerland), an ancient city built on an earlier Celtic settlement. Made by hammering a single sheet of gold, it blends Roman traditions with that of a local Celtic tribe known as the Helvetii. This exhibition presents the bust together with other objects from the site, providing a view of a provincial capital and the importance of imperial imagery in territories beyond Rome.
Selected Works
View of Avenches, Switzerland, showing the Roman amphitheater of ancient Aventicum. Image: Site et Musée romains d’Avenches, Etat de Vaud. Photo: NVP3D
A worker holds the gold bust upon its discovery in an ancient sewer in 1939. Image: Site et Musée romains d’Avenches Archives, Etat de Vaud
Mosaic Panel with a Dolphin, Roman, AD 150–250. Stone. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches, Etat de Vaud
Inscription Honoring Caius Julius Camillus, Roman, about AD 71. Limestone. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches, Etat de Vaud
Dedication to the Celtic Goddess Anechtlomara and the Emperor, Roman, AD 100–250. Limestone. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches, Etat de Vaud
Bust of Marcus Aurelius, Roman, AD 160-180. Gold. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches et Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire, Etat de Vaud
Drawing of Mosaic Floor from Aventicum, about 1786, Joseph-Emanuel Curty. Ink and watercolor. Getty Research Institute