Is the bronze head of Septimius Severus, on display at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen for over 50 years, the missing piece from a statue that has just been brought back to Turkey? Nothing is less certain for the Danes.
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After being kept in a private collection in the United States for decades and loaned to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the statue of the Roman Emperor (145-211) was returned to Turkey, but still without the top.
“On our head we have to find cracks that exactly match the cracks on the torso,” the statue’s director of collections, Rune Frederiksen, tells AFP.
Nevertheless, a former curator of the museum had estimated in 1979 that the head, acquired in 1970 without specifying the exact provenance, was a decapitated statue from an American private collection. The two parts had been brought together for an exhibition.
“The attachment of the head to the torso was done in the sense that a rod was inserted into the neck (…) and attached to the torso in such a way that the two fragments approached each other,” says Mr. Frederiksen.
For him the meeting had not been final.
“I’m not saying they don’t go together. “I’m just saying that we’re not as sure of ourselves as we were maybe 25 or 30 years ago when we wrote the catalogues,” emphasizes the person responsible.
These famous catalogs always affirm that “nothing of composition or structure could prevent the head and body from belonging to the same statue”.
They insist more strongly on the origin of the Danish bronze, placing it at Boubon, a Roman site in Asia Minor in the historical region of Lycia on what is now Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
However, according to archaeologist Guillaume Biard, a lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille, there is no definitive documentary evidence that could officially identify the origin of the head.
On the other hand, “the torso that was once on display in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and brought back to Turkey comes from the Sebasteion – that is, the temple of the imperial cult – of Boubon,” he explains.
Proceedings “initiated” by Turkey.
But for the Turkish authorities, the provenance of the head is undeniable.
In particular, they are based on the work of a Turkish archaeologist, Jale Inan, who had carried out measurements on the two parts.
“The bronze comes from Boubon in Turkey. And like all items originating in Turkey, we demand their return,” explains the Turkish chargé d’affaires in Denmark, Mehmet Bulut.
A discussion with the Glyptotek was initiated.
“The procedure has been initiated. We have expressed our wish, but it will take time,” says Mr. Bulut.
If he is not against a refund, Mr Frederiksen believes it is “necessary to carry out an in-depth investigation”.
Bringing together fragments is a priority for historians and museums.
“It is of course important to be able to put the old statues back together; Most of those who have come to us are disembodied heads or headless bodies,” explains Emmanuelle Rosso, professor of art history and archeology at Sorbonne University Paris IV.
Some heads have disappeared over time as statues were decapitated, sometimes during riots or later by looters who wanted to sell two items instead of just one.
“Full statues are very rare, and bronze statues are even more so,” notes Ms. Rosso.
However, “the more complete a sculptural work, the more elements archaeologists and art historians have to place it in its original production and exhibition context,” agrees his colleague Guillaume Biard.
However, there are also meetings of members with bad bankruptcy.
“In Roman times the sculpture of the emperor was used for political propaganda and when a new emperor came it was sometimes more efficient and cheaper to replace the head instead of replacing all the statues,” explains Mr Frederiksen.
According to Ms. Rosso, the compatibility of the Turkish statue with the Danish head could be checked without moving it.
“A 3D model created using photogrammetry would do,” she says.