Pair of Italian Carved Wooden Roundels of Nero and Augustus

Italian, 19th century

A monumental and highly charismatic pair of carved wooden roundels, each depicting a bust-length portrait of a Roman emperor – Nero and Augustus Caesar – in high relief against a green ground and framed by an integral oval border of rich foliate carving.

Each panel is carved from softwood and prepared with gesso, polychrome and bronzed gilding. The emperors are shown in armour and cloak, their features modelled with a strong, almost sculptural presence: deep-set eyes, sharply defined noses and mouths, and hair worked in tight, incised curls that stand proud from the background. The cloaks are deeply undercut so that the folds lift away from the field, giving a near three-dimensional effect. At the base of each cuirass is a stylised lion-mask in relief, a classical motif often used on Roman military portraiture.

The surrounding frames are carved as part of the same panel, rather than applied, with a continuous run of shells, acanthus foliage and flowerheads punctuated by raised blocks and a beaded inner border. The outer edges and high points retain traces of bronzed gilding, now softened to a warm, matte glow that picks up the light beautifully in raking illumination.

The surfaces are a major part of the appeal. Both roundels show a complex history of paint and wear, with layers of green, red and flesh tones worn back to the gesso and, in places, to the bare wood. On Nero’s cloak a later pink overpainting survives in places, with the original deep red visible beneath where the upper layer has broken away. The combination of exposed wood, old gesso and fragmentary colour gives the pair a wonderfully honest, timeworn character.

The inscription to each emperor is cut directly into the ground in tall Roman capitals: NERO and ROMA on one, AUGUSTUS CÆSAR and ROMA on the other. The lettering reinforces the didactic, almost architectural quality of the pieces, echoing inscribed friezes and temple façades. Although firmly 19th century in date, the pair are conceived in the 18th-century Roman manner, drawing on the fashion for antique imperial portraiture and the taste for bold, theatrical decorative schemes that accompanied the Grand Tour.

With their impressive scale, sculptural modelling and richly distressed surfaces, these roundels have enormous decorative impact. Hung side by side above a console, over a doorway or anchoring a long wall, they bring a strong, slightly irreverent classical note –the perfect foil to both traditional country-house interiors and more contemporary, maximalist rooms.

Italian, c.1880

Carved softwood, gesso, polychrome & bronzed gilding

Each approx. 80cm high x 63cm wide x 9cm deep