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The gold bust of Marcus Aurelius is a gold bust found on April 19, 1939 in Avenches, a commune in western Switzerland. Measuring 33.5 cm high and weighing 1.6 kg, it is the largest known metal bust of a Roman emperor and is considered one of the most important archaeological finds in Switzerland.

Discovered by chance during an excavation of the sewers of the Cigognier sanctuary in Aventicum, the bust is kept for security at the Banque cantonale vaudoise in Lausanne; a copy is on permanent display at the Roman Museum in Avenches. The original has only been exhibited a dozen times, including two exhibitions in Avenches, in 1996 and 2006. The bust seems to have been created by a goldsmith from the Aventicum region, although the rarity of ancient busts in precious metals prevents a clear analysis of its style.

Initially interpreted as the emperor Antoninus Pius, the bust is most often considered to represent his successor, Marcus Aurelius, in the last years of his life. The interpretation of the bust, made by studying portraits of Roman emperors from period numismatics and emperors' busts, is, however, disputed by Jean-Charles Balty, who believes that the bust represents the emperor Julian.

History
The gold bust was discovered on April 19, 1939 in Avenches by unemployed workers from Lausanne participating in an occupation program partly organized by the association Pro Aventico which manages the ancient heritage of Avenches. They were under the direction of the cantonal archaeologist Louis Bosset, the curator of the Roman Museum of Avenches Jules Bourquin and the scientific director of the site André Rais since October 21, 1938; their mission consisted mainly in revealing the outline of the building attached to the Cigognier column. It was during the excavation of sewer number 1 of the site that a worker hit a metal object with his pickaxe; the bust was in a pipe, buried in silt and black earth, and was almost entirely covered with limestone. Weighing about 1.6 kg at the time of its discovery, the bust is the largest gold find made in Switzerland, and it was immediately patented by a notary.

The bust was exhibited on the Cigognier site in the days following the discovery. The news spread very quickly in Switzerland, and the bust was moved to the bank every evening to prevent theft. Visitors came from all over the country to admire it, and newspapers from all over the world, such as The New York Times or The Illustrated London, wrote about it. Between August 21 and 26, 1939, the bust was exhibited in Berlin as part of the Sixth International Congress of Classical Archaeology. It was then loaned to the Kunsthaus in Zurich in the summer of 1939 before being sent to the Swiss National Museum for restoration. There, three plaster copies were made for exhibitions at the Swiss National Museum, the Cantonal Monetary Museum in Lausanne, and the Roman Museum in Avenches.

Before the bust was returned to Avenches, the security arrangements at the Roman Museum in Avenches were evaluated at the request of the Department of Education and Religious Affairs. As they were deemed unsatisfactory, the copy was exhibited. The original was placed in the Banque cantonale vaudoise in Lausanne. This decision proved to be the right one, as two copies of the bust have since been stolen during burglaries, in November 1940 and July 1957.

Since its loan to the Kunsthaus in Zurich, the gold bust of Marcus Aurelius has only been exhibited on rare occasions: 1985 at the Schnütgen Museum in Cologne, 1991 at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich, 1991-1992 at the History Museum in Bern, 1992 and 1996 at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva, 1993-1997 at the Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire in Lausanne, 1995 at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, 2003-2004 at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, and 2018 at the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne. It was first shown at the Roman Museum in Avenches in 1996 for an exhibition called "Bronze and Gold", and was the centerpiece of the 2006 temporary exhibition. A copy of the bust is part of the museum's permanent exhibition on the second floor.

Place of discovery
The bust was discovered on the territory of Aventicum in the commune of Avenches. Located in the Broye-Vully District in the canton of Vaud, Avenches lies at an altitude of 478 m on an isolated hill south of the Broye plain, 51 km northeast of Lausanne and 29 km southwest of Bern. Aventicum is the ancestor of Avenches, and is located on the slopes of the Avenches hill. During its heyday, in the first century AD, this Roman colony had a population of about 20,000 and was the administrative and political capital of Helvetii. Aventicum is considered one of the richest archaeological sites in Switzerland and has been the subject of systematic excavations since the establishment of the Pro Aventico association in 1885.

The territory of Aventicum, which covers 228 hectares, includes a theater, bath-houses, an amphitheater and a temple. The bust was found on the excavation site of the latter, called the "Cigognier sanctuary". A dendrochronological analysis of the foundation piles of the sanctuary made it possible to date its construction to 98 AD. While the emperor Vespasian had elevated Aventicum to the rank of colony 20 years earlier, it was probably during the reign of Trajan that the temple was built.

Archaeologically, the site of Aventicum differs from many others in that an unusual amount of bronze objects have been found there. Indeed, the city was plundered during an Alemanni invasion in the third century, and it seems that many inhabitants, taken by surprise, did not have time to secure their belongings; they would have preferred to use the ground as a hiding place, and fires may also have contributed to the burial of precious objects.

The name "Cigognier sanctuary" comes from a stork's nest on the only column still standing in the building. The name appeared for the first time in 1642, on an engraving by Matthäus Merian, and the nest was moved in 1978 during the restoration of the column. Aventicum and Avenches take their name from the Celtic goddess Aventia (or Avencia).

Original
The bust was made from a single disk-shaped gold leaf, using the repoussé technique, although its size suggests that it should have been made from several leaves. In 1940, the Swiss archaeologist Paul Schazmann stated that it was "[...] almost incredible that a work of this size should consist of a single sheet [...]". This theory has often been questioned, but all the analyses carried out lead to the same conclusion. It has not been melted either, as proven by its thinness; the bust having taken shape by being hammered, its thickness varies according to the level of work at different places on its surface. A tomographic analysis conducted in 2016 shows that the craftsman began his work with the narrowest part of the bust, the neck, and ended with the torso. The bust is made from 92% 22-carat gold, and also contains 2-3% silver and 2-3% copper. The bust has a total weight of 1,589.07 g and a volume of 82.25 cm3.

Copies
The first copies of the bust were made in plaster in November 1939. The walls of these busts were 3 mm thick, and the gilding was done with a leaf. A plaster copy dating from 1941, still on display at the Musée Monétaire Cantonal in Lausanne in 2006, was in a poor state of preservation and the red of the coating applied to the bust before gilding showed.

A second series of copies was made in the 1970s in Betacryl resin. The longevity of these copies was questioned by Anne de Pury-Gysel, director of the work on the Aventicum site, because the decomposition of the busts over time created small black spots on the surface. In 1992, new copies were made for the exhibition "The Gold of the Helvetians" in Zurich. Three models were created by electroplating, using a silicone mould. Ten years later, the Vaud government realised that the mould was already in a state of decay. It therefore seemed crucial to produce a durable mould, so that if the original was lost, it would be possible to make copies. Walter Frei, curator at the National Museum in Zurich, is the author of this silicone 'print' made in 2003.

Description
The bust is 33.5 cm high and 29.46 cm wide. The thickness of its wall varies between 0.24 and 1.4 mm, while its proportions are about three quarters of that of an adult male.

The head of the bust is straight, and thus presents a symmetrical and rigid aspect not common to ancient busts, as marble busts are usually turned slightly to one side. A comparison with a bust of Marcus Aurelius kept in the Louvre Museum, especially at the eyebrows, shows that the gold bust would have been made in mirror image; its proportions are reversed from left to right. The different parts of the bust are inspired by models from different periods, as shown, for example, by its narrowness, which recalls works from 100. The hair on the bust is short and wavy, a style dating from the first century AD and at odds with what is known of Marcus Aurelius. The chin of the bust is slightly triangular, with a very round skull and a large forehead, whereas Marcus Aurelius is usually shown with a more vertical and rectangular face.

The bust represents an elderly and bearded man, with two horizontal wrinkles on the forehead and dark circles under the eyes. The dazed look of the bust gives it a solemn expression that is most often found in posthumous works. The left eye is slightly higher than the right, the nose has large nostrils and the mouth is narrow. The neck is smooth and devoid of musculature or wrinkles. The bust wears three layers of clothing, including a Roman cuirass with a Gorgon in the center and, on the left shoulder, a paludamentum originally held by a brooch, which has disappeared and must have been made of a precious stone.

Identification
At the time of its discovery and during the months that followed, the bust was identified as representing Antoninus Pius. It was Paul Schazmann, in 1940, who first saw a more striking resemblance to Marcus Aurelius, the adopted son and heir of Antoninus.



In order to reach this conclusion, Schazmann concentrated his research on several Roman emperors, since gold could only be used for imperial representations at that time. He then studied the Roman coinage and ancient statues of emperors, although he knew that in the first century they did not yet have beards. Hadrian, Antoninus the Pious and Marcus Aurelius were the most likely candidates, although Hadrian was quickly discarded because of his physiognomic differences with the other two. Coins were a great help in identifying the bust; the Roman emperor was one of the few ancient figures to appear very frequently on imperial coins.

The facial expression of the bust is found on reliefs of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius in Rome (built in 176), as well as on series of coins issued between 170 and 180. It is therefore generally accepted that the bust represents Marcus Aurelius in the last years of his life. Some differences with known representations of Marcus Aurelius are however to be noted; apart from the different hairstyle, the top of the head is wider and less high compared to the busts and coins of the philosopher emperor. The date of production would therefore be between 176 and 180, but it is not excluded that the bust is a posthumous work; a production after Marcus Aurelius' death would explain the hairstyle of the bust.

However, this theory is not entirely unanimous. In 1980, the French-Belgian archaeologist Jean-Charles Balty proposed a reinterpretation of the bust, arguing that it represents the 4th century AD Roman emperor Julian. Balty's conclusion is particularly influenced by the statue's frontal gaze and its hairstyle. Hans Jucker, a Swiss Classical Archaeologist, responded to Balty a year later by pointing out that the 'frontality' of the statue is explained by its use as the end of a staff and that the hairstyle of the bust is ultimately not similar to any known Roman emperor portrait, demonstrating local manufacture rather than misidentification. Jucker also pointed out that Julian was never depicted with wrinkles and that the way the eyes were reproduced did not match the style of the 4th century.

According to Anne de Pury-Gysel, some commentators believe that the bust has been falsely attributed to antiquity; one hypothesis put forward refers to the bust as a medieval work. This idea probably arose from the fact that, until 1939, all the precious metal heads found dated from the Middle Ages. A certain resemblance, especially in facial expression, to the Reliquary Bust of St. Candide in the Abbey of Saint-Maurice in Valais lends some credence to this theory, but their very different styles remove any possible doubt; ancient artists are known for their naturalistic portraits, with more realistic wrinkles and hair, while medieval portraits are generally simpler and more concerned with symbolism.

Fonction et origine
La fonction du buste ne peut être définie avec certitude. Puisqu'il ne peut pas tenir debout par lui-même, il est probable qu'il ait été utilisé monté sur une hampe. Trois rivets réalisés après la création de la statue « — un à l'avant, les deux autres sur chaque épaule — » laissent penser que la hampe était cachée par un tissu. Le contexte reste cependant flou ; un article de Lee Ann Ricardi, archéologue américaine, propose la fonction d'enseigne de guerre, mais Aventicum n'est pas connu en tant que ville militaire. Autre piste probable : le buste aurait servi lors de célébrations, porté sur une hampe en tête de parade, de la manière représentée sur une peinture murale de la villa romaine de Meikirch, dans le canton de Berne.

L'origine du buste est souvent considérée comme « provinciale », donc venant probablement d'Avenches ou de ses alentours. Les arguments en faveur de cette théorie sont sa coiffure, de style celtique, le fait que des sources d'or sont connues en Helvétie au IIe siècle apr. J.-C. et l'existence de deux orfèvres « — un père et son fils — » à Aventicum à cette même période, comme l'atteste une stèle funéraire du site. Le buste est ainsi parfois stigmatisé pour cette origine, souvent synonyme de mauvaise qualité par opposition aux œuvres venant de Rome même. Le manque d'œuvres métalliques contemporaines ne permet cependant pas de déterminer avec certitude l'origine du buste.

Réception
Parmi les différentes copies du buste, l'une est offerte à Benito Mussolini par le chef du Département de l'Instruction publique en 1941 pour le remercier de ses dons à la bibliothèque cantonale vaudoise. Ce cadeau est également mis au nom du Conseil d'État du canton de Vaud et du Conseil fédéral, pour.

En 1944, l'ancien propriétaire de la parcelle du Cigognier réclame un dédommagement pour le buste en or à l'association Pro Aventico. Il appuie sa demande sur une servitude restée à son nom lors de la vente et amène l'affaire devant le tribunal administratif de l’État de Vaud. En appliquant le code civil suisse, le tribunal déclare le buste comme et permet ainsi à celui-ci d'intégrer les collections de l'État.

Les découvertes archéologiques en métaux précieux de l'Antiquité sont rares, notamment car peu d'entre elles ont survécu au recyclage généralement réservé à ce type d'œuvres. Le buste en or de Marc Aurèle est le premier objet antique en or à avoir été trouvé, ce qui lui vaut l'appellation de dans le journal 24 Heures. Il est suivi dès 1965 par la découverte, en Grèce, d'un buste en or 23 carats de Septime Sévère, et par divers objets, tels qu'une tête de statue romaine en or réutilisée dans la statue reliquaire de Sainte Foy à Conques. Du haut de ses 33,5 centimètres, le buste de Marc Aurèle est également le plus grand parmi les bustes romains en or, dépassant de 5 centimètres celui de Septime Sévère et de plus de 20 centimètres les petits bustes en or de Licinius et Licinius II.

En 2015, Swissmint émet des pièces commémoratives pour les 2,000 ans d'Aventicum. Le buste en or de Marc Aurèle est choisi pour la face de ces pièces, d'une valeur nominale de 50 CHF.