Obtaining original Roman classical marble is no easy task. These ancient treasures are elusive due to strict international regulations and rarity on the market (most of the best-preserved examples have long since been claimed by museums). However, against all odds, the Halsted A&A Foundation succeeded in acquiring a remarkable piece: a Roman statue of the Greek goddess Athena from the early 1st century AD. The statue will be unveiled on January 25 in the dramatic Tadao Ando-designed atrium at 659 Wrightwood in Chicago, where it will remain on permanent display.
The sculpture remained in the hands of a British family for nearly 260 years until 2023, when it was acquired by a Chicago-based organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of fine art, particularly Asian, Ancient Near Eastern, Greek, Roman and Egyptian art work. The statue’s original owner, William Weddell, was an English landowner and politician who purchased the statue in Rome in the mid-1700s for his estate at Newby Manor, North Yorkshire. There, Athena occupies a niche in a circular pink gallery designed by the famous neoclassical architect Robert Adam, providing a fittingly elegant backdrop for the goddess of wisdom and war.
The statue, now known as Horsted Athena, shows the goddess wearing a warrior helmet, her hands stretched outward as if imbued with eternal wisdom. She wore a flowing sleeveless tunic that fell to the floor, and a belt-like aegis decorated with a Gorgon’s head slung across her chest.
Since the acquisition, a team of conservation experts has been working to assess the statue’s condition and determine how best to display it. It is worth noting that Athena is a composite statue, which was common in 18th-century Italy when buyers demanded complete sculptures even if they were assembled from unrelated parts. The head was carved during the reign of Emperor Augustus (31 BC – 14 AD) and is attached to the body during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41 AD – 54 AD). The most extensive repairs were performed on the left arm and from the jawline to the chest.
Karen Manchester, director of the Horsted A&A Foundation, said these restorations are a key element of the statue’s history, adding to its layered narrative. These “imitations” have their own unique charm, telling stories that span centuries, empires and ownership. While these pieced together antiquities may confuse modern archaeologists trying to trace their origins, they reveal a rich historical context.
The statue’s exhibition at Wrightwood 659 sets the stage for “Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture in the Torlonia Collection,” a highly anticipated exhibition opening March 13 at the Art Institute of Chicago. This landmark exhibition marks the North American debut of 58 rare ancient Roman sculptures from the renowned Torlonia Collection, a treasure trove of classical art that has fascinated scholars and connoisseurs.
Collected by the Torlonia family in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the “Classical Age” was idealized with an almost obsessive enthusiasm, the Torlonia Collection is one of the largest and most important private collections of its kind. one. Its collection easily rivals that of major institutions such as the Capitoline Museums and the Vatican Museums. Prince Giovanni Torlonia (1754-1829) and his son Prince Alessandro (1800-1886) created sculptures from early modern Roman architecture and Extensive archaeological excavations were carried out at family estates across Italy, expanding their collections. In the 1870s, the Torlona family even opened one of Rome’s first private museums to display their collection. However, the museum closed during World War II and for nearly 50 years these priceless marbles were stored in the palace’s cellars, closed to the public. It was only in 2020 that selected works from the collection began to reappear and were shown in a series of prestigious European exhibitions.
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The Chicago exhibition highlights the extraordinary rarity of these works, with nearly half of the works on display having not been publicly displayed in more than 70 years. Likewise, the Horsted Athena has been hidden from public view for over two centuries. Manchester added: “Now scholars, students and visitors will be able to take a closer look at the Athena statue and interpret it from multiple perspectives, including art history, restoration practice and gender studies.”
Global interest in classical art extends beyond Chicago. The Louvre in Paris recently closed its “Masterpieces from the Torlonia Collection”, displaying the highlights of this extraordinary collection in Anne of Austria’s newly renovated summer apartment. In times of geopolitical turmoil and cultural uncertainty, exhibitions like these serve as a refuge, offering the quiet beauty and timeless wisdom of classical art. Just as the Romantics sought solace in an idealized past, today’s audiences are invited to revisit these works not just as an escape but as a lens through which to examine and reinterpret the complexities of our time .
