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In classical Antiquity the subjects of sculptures were identified by their attributes or gestures. In this case the figure’s pensive pose suggests that of one of the Muses, Polyhymnia or Clío, depicted in sarcophagus scenes as listening attentively to the god Apollo’s music. Based on late Hellenistic models, this figure was made in the Flavian period, possibly to decorate a library.
The body is a Roman copy of a Hellenic original from around 270 B.C.E. which may represent a philosopher of the Epicurean school. The head is a Baroque copy of the type known as pseudo-Seneca. It is mentioned for the first time in the collection of Christine of Sweden, where it already appears as a restored effigy of Seneca, and it does not seem to have been altered in any noticeable manner since
A high cup formed by an ancient fragment of serpentine and a foot and stem of heliotrope. The bowl, with a rectangular mouth, is joined by a ring mount and enamelled leaves to the balustroid stem, with a low knop between round brackets of enamelled gold. Oval in shape, it has a rounded profile and a rich openwork cluster of enamelled gold leaves. The enamels are opaque and consist of light touches
