Sotheby’s offers a Julio-Claudian marble emperor torso at US$8m to US$12m on 21 October
The torso carries the top estimate in a 48-lot evening sale, part of four New York sales on 21, 22 and 23 October that Sotheby’s estimates will realise in excess of US$60m.
Original reporting:Sotheby's (sale page)Sotheby's (Magnum Opus series)Irish Examiner · 15 August 2026
Written with AI by the Luxury Assets News desk. How we work.
What happened
Sotheby’s will offer lot 8, a marble torso of an emperor from the Julio-Claudian period, in its Magnum Opus evening auction in New York at 7:00 PM EDT on 21 October 2026, with an estimate of US$8m to US$12m. It carries the top estimate among the 48 lots in the evening sale.
The house dates the piece to the first half of the 1st century and describes it as showing an extraordinary degree of completeness and an exceptional state of preservation, with a long and documented provenance. It ranks the torso among the foremost surviving achievements of early Imperial Roman sculpture.
The Irish Examiner reported in August that the figure wears upper-body armour and probably represents Augustus, Tiberius or Claudius.
The next-highest lot named in Sotheby’s lot data is lot 30, ‘Venice, View of the Grand Canal Looking East with Santa Maria della Salute’, estimated at US$6m to US$8m. The torso’s top estimate of US$12m sits above the Venice view’s top estimate of US$8m.
The Irish Examiner reported that the collection behind the sale was assembled over decades and encompasses more than 900 works, with four New York sales planned for 21, 22 and 23 October.
Sotheby’s estimates the series will realise in excess of US$60m, a figure that covers all four sales rather than the evening sale alone.
The public exhibition runs from 17 to 22 October 2026 at 945 Madison Avenue, New York.
Key issues — our analysis
- Antiquity carries the sale’s top estimate
- Roman marble estimates far apart within one sale
- Series estimate covers four sales, not the evening sale alone
Who should pay attention
- Collectors of Roman and ancient sculpture
- Owners of Roman marbles
What to watch
- The evening sale at 7:00 PM EDT on 21 October 2026 in New York
- The series’ other New York sales on 22 and 23 October
- Public viewing from 17 to 22 October at 945 Madison Avenue
Sources
How this was produced
This original summary was prepared with AI from the linked reporting and published through automated editorial checks. It has not been individually verified by a human editor. Analysis sections are our interpretation. For information only; not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Editorial standards · Corrections.
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