Ancient Roman Marble Head of the Roman Emperor Trajan. 98-117 A.D. Finely carved of Greek Marble from the island of Thasos, probably not long after his death in AD 117 Stand included. Condition: Little restoration on the eyebrow and nose restored to make the lecture of the portrait easier. Height (only the head) : 28 cm Width: 22 cm Height with stand: 48 cm. Provenance: French Private collection. Royal Athena Galleries. New York. 2002. The piece includes the Spanish Export license issued by the Ministry of Culture of Spain. Trajan is considered one of the greatest emperors in the history of Rome. He ruled for nineteen years from 98 AD to 117 AD. He conquered many lands and grew the Roman Empire to its largest expanse in history. His rule was a time of great prosperity for Rome. Trajan was considered one of the best emperors by the Roman Senate. After his death they would honor new emperors with the saying "be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan." Trajan followed his father and joined the Roman army. He was a gifted leader and soon rose up the ranks. He served with distinction in various parts of the Roman Empire including Syria. Trajan entered politics and was elected praetor and then consul. He also became a general over a full Roman legion. While Trajan was serving as governor of Upper Germany, he received a letter from Emperor Nerva. He was being adopted as Nerva's heir and would be next in line for the throne. It was common in Rome for an emperor who didn't have any sons to adopt an adult son as heir. Nerva picked Trajan because he was popular with the army. In 98 AD, Nerva died and Trajan became emperor. Trajan didn't immediately return to Rome, but visited the Roman legions to make sure he had the support of the army. He finally returned to Rome a year later and was received by the people and the senate as the new emperor. Because he had spent much of his life in the army, Trajan was often called a "soldier-emperor". He enjoyed battle and wanted to expand the Roman Empire. His first conquest was the kingdom of Dacia (modern-day Romania). Dacia became an important Roman province bringing wealth to Rome through its gold mines. His second major conquest was the kingdom of Parthia in Asia. He added two new Roman provinces in Asia including Armenia and Mesopotamia. Trajan also had many public works built throughout the Roman Empire. These works included bridges, aqueducts, baths, roads, public buildings, and canals. He also had a new forum built called Trajan's Forum in Rome. The Seller can prove that the lot was obtained legally , provenance statement seen by Catawiki. Important information. The seller guarantees that he is entitled to ship this lot. The seller will take care that any necessary permits will be arranged. The seller will inform the buyer about this if this takes more than a few days. #ExclusiveSelectionApril