Head of Constantine the Great, York | |
---|---|
Material | Marble |
Created | Original c. 2nd century, remodelled in c. AD 306 |
Period/culture | Roman |
Discovered | Before 1823 Stonegate, York, North Yorkshire |
Present location | Roman Gallery, Yorkshire Museum, York |
Identification | YORYM: 1998.23 |
The Head of Constantine the Great, York is the only surviving fragment of larger, marble statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. It was found in Stonegate, York, before 1823, and is now in the Yorkshire Museum. [1]
The statue was presented to the museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society (latterly the Yorkshire Museum) in 1823 by James Atkinson, who had acquired the artefact following the excavation of 'a drain in Stonegate'. Stonegate is a medieval street in York which overlays the via praetoria of the Roman legionary fortress of Eboracum and it is possible that the complete statue originally stood within this area. [2]
The head is a fragment of a larger, twice life sized, statue of the Emperor Constantine the Great. [1] It stands to a height of 42 cm, and is 27 cm wide and 30 cm deep. It measures 17.5 cm in diameter at the base of the neck as it now survives. [3] The face is clean shaven and he wears a corona civica . The axis of the neck suggests that the face had originally been turned slightly to the left and down towards an audience below. [4]
Although the material was originally identified as Magnesian Limestone [1] it has been subsequently re-identified as a coarse crystalline marble, of possible Italian origin. [5]
A 2018 paper argues that the bust was remodelled from a statue of an earlier, deified emperor, probably Hadrian. It argues, through a re-analysis of the image, especially the use of the corona civica, granted to Constantine only after the civil war in Italy against Maxentius had come to an end, that this recarving occurred after AD 312 and not, as widely believed, at the moment of Constantine's proclamation as emperor in York in AD 306. [4]
The statue has formed part of the displays of the Yorkshire Museum since its opening in 1830.
The 2006 exhibition Constantine the Great: York's Roman Emperor, which featured the head as its central piece, [6] was described as "the most important archaeological-historical loan exhibition to have been held in a provincial British museum". [7] The curator Elizabeth Hartley was "the driving force" behind the exhibition, [8] which attracted over 58,000 visitors. [9]
In 2010 the Yorkshire Museum reopened after a twelve-month closure for redevelopment. The new exhibition, "Roman York - Meet the People of the Empire" features the head as a central piece of the display. [10] [11]
In 2013 the head was loaned to exhibitions in Milan and the Colosseum to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, [12] returning to York in September of that year. [13]
From July to October 2016, the bust was featured in an exhibition about Constantine's father Constantius I titled "Constantius: York's Forgotten Emperor", which centred on the Wold Newton Hoard. [14]
Julian was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism in its place, caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate in Christian tradition. He is sometimes referred to as Julian the Philosopher.
Flavius Valerius Constantius, also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 to 305 and then ruling as augustus until his death. Constantius was also father of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome. The nickname "Chlorus" was first popularized by Byzantine-era historians and not used during the emperor's lifetime.
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Constans II was the son of Western Roman emperor Constantine III, and served as his co-emperor from 409 to 411. Constans was a monk prior to his father being acclaimed emperor by the army in Britain in early 407, an act of rebellion against the ruling emperor Honorius. He was summoned to Gaul, appointed to the position of caesar (heir) and swiftly married so that a dynasty could be founded. In Hispania, Honorius's relatives rose in 408 and expelled Constantine's administration. An army under the generals Constans and Gerontius was sent to deal with this and Constantine's authority was re-established. Honorius acknowledged Constantine as co-emperor in early 409 and Constantine immediately raised Constans to the position of augustus (emperor), theoretically equal in rank to Honorius as well as to Constantine. Later in 409 Gerontius rebelled, proclaimed his client Maximus emperor and incited barbarian groups in Gaul to rise up. Constans was sent to quash the revolt, but was defeated and withdrew to Arles. In 410, Constans was sent to Hispania again. Gerontius had strengthened his army with barbarians and defeated Constans; the latter withdrew north and was defeated again and killed at Vienne early in 411. Gerontius then besieged Constantine in Arles and killed him.
Eboracum was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimately developed into the present-day city of York, in North Yorkshire, England.
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The Colossus of Constantine was a many times life-size acrolithic early-4th-century statue depicting the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, commissioned by himself, which originally occupied the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius on the Via Sacra, near the Forum Romanum in Rome. Surviving portions of the Colossus now reside in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, now part of the Capitoline Museums, on the Capitoline Hill, above the west end of the Forum.
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Elizabeth Grayson Hartley, was an American archaeologist and curator. She spent most of her career as the Keeper of Archaeology at the Yorkshire Museum in York.
The Statue of Constantine the Great is a bronze statue depicting the Roman emperor Constantine I seated on a throne, commissioned by York Civic Trust and designed by the sculptor Philip Jackson. It was unveiled in 1998 and is situated on Minster Yard, outside York Minster. It commemorates the accession of Constantine as Roman emperor in AD 306 on this site, after the death of his father Constantius Chlorus in York.
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The Capitoline Museums in Rome hold parts of a bronze colossus of Constantine. The colossal statue of a Roman emperor was probably made in the 4th century but only fragments survive. It is usually interpreted as depicting Constantine the Great.