A 2,000-year-old marble cuirass torso from the dawn of the Empire more than tripled its estimate at Sotheby’s New York, setting a new auction record for ancient classical sculptureA marble torso made in the earliest days of the Roman Empire has set a new world record for ancient classical sculpture at auction. At Sotheby’s New York on Wednesday night, October 21, after 14 minutes of what the auction house described as fiery bidding, the sculpture sold for $34.3 million in the Magnum Opus Evening Auction.The pre-sale estimate was $8 million to $12 million, so the final price was nearly three times the high estimate. Sotheby’s did not say in its announcement whether the figure includes fees, which is normally the case for headline auction prices, so check that before quoting it as a hammer price.What Was SoldThe lot was a marble torso of an emperor from the Julio-Claudian period, dated to the first half of the first century AD. Sotheby’s and other previews say the figure is likely to represent Augustus, Tiberius or Claudius. The statue is shown wearing a cuirass, the decorated military breastplate that, in the words of Sotheby’s specialists, would have communicated military success and divine favor to the ancient viewer. According to the auction house, the sculpture is larger than life and stands 43 1/4 inches tall as it survives. Popular Science reports that it was carved in marble from the Aegean island of Paros and originally stood inside a temple in what is now Croatia, where it reminded the recently conquered population that the age of the Roman Empire had arrived. Sculptures of this type were often fixtures in temples, with heads and limbs updated to depict the reigning emperor. As Sotheby’s specialist Alexandra Olsman put it in an accompanying video, the piece answers the question of what imagery could convey the idea of imperial power. Sotheby’s said the torso is distinguished by its completeness, exceptional preservation, outstanding quality and a documented provenance stretching back more than two centuries. It called it the only example of its type in private hands with such a provenance, and the most important Roman imperial sculpture to come to auction in over a decade. Why the Price MattersThe sale is a reminder of how much the market has moved. The same torso was offered at Sotheby’s New York in 2010, with an estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million, and sold for $7.36 million with fees, according to The Art Newspaper. The sculpture had been traded three times before this sale, and was backed by a guarantee, meaning a third party had committed to bid at a set level. The previous high for a sculpture of this kind appears to have been a much older benchmark. In 2007, the bronze Artemis and the Stag, of Roman imperial or Hellenistic date, sold at Sotheby’s New York for $28.6 million, which at the time was the highest price paid for any sculpture at auction. Check the exact basis of Sotheby’s “ancient classical sculpture” claim before using the word “record” without attribution. Part of a Much Bigger SaleThe torso led Act I of Magnum Opus: A Private Collection of Exceptional Art and Objects Through the Ages, a series of four sales drawn from an anonymous private collection. It comprises more than 900 works in over 25 categories, including ancient sculpture, Old Master paintings, Islamic art and carpets, French furniture and 20th-century art and design. Before the sale, the series was expected to bring in more than $60 million, and the evening auction alone had a combined low estimate of $32.65 million. In other words, the torso brought in more than the combined low estimate of the entire evening. Sotheby’s said the evening was a “white-glove” result, with 100% of lots sold. The series continues on Thursday with Act II: Figure & Form and Act III: Darkness & Light. A Rome ConnectionFor readers in Rome, the headline price is a striking measure of how the market values the imagery of the early Empire. The sculpture was conceived at a moment when, as the auction house put it, a new visual language of imperial power was being created, and the idea that the form of an emperor’s armored chest could carry a political message is one that anyone who has stood before the Augustus of Prima Porta will recognize. The torso was made for a provincial temple, not for Rome itself, but it belongs to the same program of image-making. The buyer has not been named in the information published so far. At a GlanceWhat: Marble torso of an emperor, Roman Imperial, Julio-Claudian, first half of the 1st century AD Where and when: Sotheby’s New York, Magnum Opus Evening Auction, October 21, 2026 Price: $34.3 million, after 14 minutes of bidding (estimate $8 million to $12 million) Previous sale: Sotheby’s New York, 2010, $7.36 million with fees Result: New record for an ancient classical sculpture at auction, according to Sotheby’s Ph: Sotheby’s 

A marble torso made in the earliest days of the Roman Empire has set a new world record for ancient classical sculpture at auction. At Sotheby’s New York on Wednesday night, October 21, after 14 minutes of what the auction house described as fiery bidding, the sculpture sold for $34.3 million in the Magnum Opus Evening Auction.The pre-sale estimate was $8 million to $12 million, so the final price was nearly three times the high estimate. Sotheby’s did not say in its announcement whether the figure includes fees, which is normally the case for headline auction prices, so check that before quoting it as a hammer price. The lot was a marble torso of an emperor from the Julio-Claudian period, dated to the first half of the first century AD. Sotheby’s and other previews say the figure is likely to represent Augustus, Tiberius or Claudius. The statue is shown wearing a cuirass, the decorated military breastplate that, in the words of Sotheby’s specialists, would have communicated military success and divine favor to the ancient viewer. According to the auction house, the sculpture is larger than life and stands 43 1/4 inches tall as it survives. Popular Science reports that it was carved in marble from the Aegean island of Paros and originally stood inside a temple in what is now Croatia, where it reminded the recently conquered population that the age of the Roman Empire had arrived. Sculptures of this type were often fixtures in temples, with heads and limbs updated to depict the reigning emperor. As Sotheby’s specialist Alexandra Olsman put it in an accompanying video, the piece answers the question of what imagery could convey the idea of imperial power. Sotheby’s said the torso is distinguished by its completeness, exceptional preservation, outstanding quality and a documented provenance stretching back more than two centuries. It called it the only example of its type in private hands with such a provenance, and the most important Roman imperial sculpture to come to auction in over a decade. The sale is a reminder of how much the market has moved. The same torso was offered at Sotheby’s New York in 2010, with an estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million, and sold for $7.36 million with fees, according to The Art Newspaper. The sculpture had been traded three times before this sale, and was backed by a guarantee, meaning a third party had committed to bid at a set level. The previous high for a sculpture of this kind appears to have been a much older benchmark. In 2007, the bronze Artemis and the Stag, of Roman imperial or Hellenistic date, sold at Sotheby’s New York for $28.6 million, which at the time was the highest price paid for any sculpture at auction. Check the exact basis of Sotheby’s “ancient classical sculpture” claim before using the word “record” without attribution. The torso led Act I of Magnum Opus: A Private Collection of Exceptional Art and Objects Through the Ages, a series of four sales drawn from an anonymous private collection. It comprises more than 900 works in over 25 categories, including ancient sculpture, Old Master paintings, Islamic art and carpets, French furniture and 20th-century art and design. Before the sale, the series was expected to bring in more than $60 million, and the evening auction alone had a combined low estimate of $32.65 million. In other words, the torso brought in more than the combined low estimate of the entire evening. Sotheby’s said the evening was a “white-glove” result, with 100% of lots sold. The series continues on Thursday with Act II: Figure & Form and Act III: Darkness & Light. For readers in Rome, the headline price is a striking measure of how the market values the imagery of the early Empire. The sculpture was conceived at a moment when, as the auction house put it, a new visual language of imperial power was being created, and the idea that the form of an emperor’s armored chest could carry a political message is one that anyone who has stood before the Augustus of Prima Porta will recognize. The torso was made for a provincial temple, not for Rome itself, but it belongs to the same program of image-making. The buyer has not been named in the information published so far. What: Marble torso of an emperor, Roman Imperial, Julio-Claudian, first half of the 1st century AD
Where and when: Sotheby’s New York, Magnum Opus Evening Auction, October 21, 2026
Price: $34.3 million, after 14 minutes of bidding (estimate $8 million to $12 million)
Previous sale: Sotheby’s New York, 2010, $7.36 million with fees
Result: New record for an ancient classical sculpture at auction, according to Sotheby’s Ph: Sotheby’s