Not on display

Head of Sextus Pompeius

Relief
ca. 1780 - ca. 1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Italy (made)

This is an ivory relief made in ca. 1780-1820. The relief represents the head of the Roman general Sextus Pompeius. It is one of three pieces that are set onto a later velvet backing in a nineteenth-century wood frame. They all may have formed part of a larger group, now lost. Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, or Sextus Pompey (65 – 35 BC), was a Roman general from the late Republic (1st century BC). His father was Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great).

Object details

Category
Reliefs
Object type
Relief
TitleHead of Sextus Pompeius (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved ivory on later velvet backing in wood frame
Ivory
Carving
Low Relief
Brief description
Relief, ivory, head of Sextus Pompeius, Italian, ca. 1780-1820
Physical description
Carved ivory relief of Sextus Pompeius, facing left. Set (together with two others: Mus. nos. 209 and 210-1874) onto a later velvet backing in a nineteenth-century wood frame.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.3cm
  • Width: 1.74cm
Object history
Bought from the Webb Collection for £2 in 1874.
Subjects depicted
Man
Pompeius Magnus Pius, Sextus
Summary
This is an ivory relief made in ca. 1780-1820. The relief represents the head of the Roman general Sextus Pompeius. It is one of three pieces that are set onto a later velvet backing in a nineteenth-century wood frame. They all may have formed part of a larger group, now lost. Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, or Sextus Pompey (65 – 35 BC), was a Roman general from the late Republic (1st century BC). His father was Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great).
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1874, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 16
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 107
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 308, p. 312
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
211-1874

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Record createdSeptember 16, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O167130/head-of-sextus-pompeius-relief-unknown/
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