Finding ancient Roman marbles is not an easy task. Between strict international regulations and rare finds on the market—many of the best-preserved examples have long been attributed to museums—these ancient treasures are not hard to come by. However, against this impossibility, the Halsted A&A Foundation has managed to find an unusual piece: an early 1st century CE Roman statue of the Greek goddess Athena. The sculpture is expected to be unveiled on January 25 at the Tadao Ando-designed atrium at 659 Wrightwood in Chicago, where it will be on display for an extended period of time.
This sculpture was in the hands of a British family for almost 260 years until 2023, when it was acquired by a Chicago-based organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of fine art, especially Asian, Ancient Near Eastern, Greek, Roman and Egyptian. it works. The statue’s original owner, William Weddell—a British landowner and politician—purchased it in the mid-1700s from Rome for his estate, Newby Hall, North Yorkshire. There, Athena was enshrined in a pink-colored circular gallery designed by the famous Neo-Classical architect Robert Adam, providing a beautiful backdrop to the merits of the goddess of wisdom and war.
This statue, now known as the Halsted Athena, shows the goddess wearing a warrior’s helmet, her hand outstretched as if imparting infinite wisdom. She wears a floor-length, sleeveless flowing coat, with a sash-like aegi adorned with a gorgon’s head draped across her chest.
Since its discovery, a team of conservation experts has worked to assess the statue’s condition and determine the best way to present it. Notably, Athena is a composite statue, something common in 18th-century Italy when buyers wanted complete sculptures, even if they were assembled from unrelated parts. The head, which was carved during the reign of Emperor Augustus (31 BC-14 CE), has been associated with a body from the time of Emperor Claudius (41-54 CE). The most extensive restoration is done on the left arm and the section from the jaw to the chest.
According to Karen Manchester, curator of the Halsted A&A Foundation, these restorations are important aspects of the statue’s history, adding to its layered narrative. Such “pastiches” have their own kind of charm, telling stories that span centuries, empires and ownership hands. Although these collected antiquities can be confusing to modern archaeologists trying to trace their origins, they reveal a rich collection of historical context.
The unveiling of the statue at Wrightwood 659 sets the stage for “Legend and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection,” a highly anticipated exhibition that opens March 13 at the Art Institute of Chicago. This landmark exhibition marks the North American debut of fifty-eight rare ancient Roman sculptures from the prestigious Torlonia Collection, a repository of ancient art that has attracted scholars and experts alike.
Assembled by the Torlonia family during the 18th and 19th centuries, a time when the “Classical period” was perfected with great enthusiasm, the Torlonia collection is one of the largest and most important private collections of its kind. It easily rivals hosting major institutions such as the Capitoline and Vatican Museums. Prince Giovanni Torlonia (1754-1829) and his son, Prince Alessandro (1800-1886), expanded their collection by acquiring sculptures from contemporary Roman circles and carried out extensive excavations in their family estates throughout Italy. In the 1870s, the Torlonias even opened Rome’s first private museums to display their collection. However, the museum was closed during the Second World War, and for almost 50 years, the precious marbles were moved to the basement of the palazzo, out of sight of the public. It was not until 2020 that selected works from the collection began to appear again, exhibited in a series of celebrated European exhibitions.
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The Chicago exhibition emphasizes the rarity of these works, almost half of the pieces on view have not been shown publicly for more than 70 years. The Halsted Athena was also hidden from the public for over two centuries. “Now, scholars, students and visitors will be able to study Athena’s image closely and interpret it from many perspectives, including those of art history, restoration processes and gender studies,” said Manchester.
The global interest in classical art extends beyond Chicago. The Louvre in Paris recently closed “Works of Art from the Torlonia Collection,” which presented highlights from this remarkable collection in the recently renovated summer residence of Anne of Austria. In an era marked by global upheaval and cultural uncertainty, exhibitions like this serve as a refuge, offering the serene beauty and timeless wisdom of ancient art. Just as the Romantics sought solace in the past, today’s audiences are invited to revisit these works not just as an escape but as a lens to examine and redefine the complexities of our time.
