Les yeux d’Auguste et de Livie au musée du Louvre : une nouvelle technique antique identifiée

Abstract

Discovered in Neuilly-le-Réal (Allier, France) in 1816, the bronze portraits of Augustus and Livia have been decisively rehabilitated as a result of a collaborative project undertaken by the Louvre and the C2RMF. Research has shown that the typological, stylistic and epigraphic anomalies, observed on several occasions, should be related to the Gallo-Roman context of the creation of the two busts. An unprecedented ancient technique in the manufacture of the eyes (opaque white glass, black-looking glass with no division between the different colours) came to light. Elementary chemical analysis confirmed that the eyes were produced using luxury glassmaking techniques-coloured glassware with cameo decoration, millefiori glassware, jewelleryprobably between AD 30 and AD 70. The two ex-votos, dedicated by Atespatus, may thus be dated to after the death of Augustus.