Pseudo-Seneca Bust | Hesiod Portrait 45 cm | Exact Replica in High-Quality Resin with Bronze Finish
The Pseudo-Seneca is a Roman bronze bust of the late 1st century BC that was discovered in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum in 1754, the finest example of about two dozen examples depicting the same face. It was originally believed to depict Seneca the Younger, the notable Roman philosopher, because its emaciated features were supposed to reflect his Stoic philosophy. However, modern scholars agree it is likely a fictitious portrait, likely intended for either Hesiod or Aristophanes. It is thought that the original example was a lost Greek bronze of ca. 200 BC. The bust is conserved in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

“Pseudo-Seneca” is also used for the uncertain authors of various antique and medieval texts such as De remediis fortuitorum, which purport to be by the Roman author. At least some of these seem to preserve and adapt genuine Senecan content, for example Saint Martin of Braga’s (d. c. 580) Formula vitae honestae, or De differentiis quatuor virtutumvitae honestae (“Rules for an Honest Life”, or “On the Four Cardinal Virtues”). Early Mss. preserve Martin’s preface, where he makes it clear that this was his adaption, but in later copies this was omitted, and the work became thought fully Seneca’s work.

Portraits of ancient worthies like this were once valued more because of who they represented than their artistic merit. This head was identified as Seneca from 1598 until 1813, when another portrait now in Berlin was found, inscribed with Seneca’s name but looking quite different.

Once it was established that this was not the Roman orator, poet and dramatist Seneca, art historians paid more attention to the portrait’s intrinsic qualities. That probably explains why this particular “pseudo-Seneca”, one of about forty similar copies, was largely unknown for nearly a century after its discovery.

Whoever this man was he was clearly popular in the Bay of Naples area, as most of the similar sculptures, bronze and marble, have been found there. On the original the whites of the eyes, made of bone, are still in place

🟫 **MATERIAL INFORMATION**

🛠️ This sculpture is made of **solid high-density resin filled with museum-grade and prosthetic-quality materials**, the same type used in **museums, cinema, theatre, and cultural institutions worldwide**.

❌ We do **NOT** use:
– ❌ Plaster *(too fragile)*
– ❌ Mineral-based mixes like stone powder composites *(which lose definition)*
– ❌ Plastic or anything similar *(which reduces both quality and weight)*

✅ We **specifically choose this resin** for its:
– 💎 **Durability**
– 🧬 **Precision**
– 🖐️ **Ability to capture every fine detail** — veins, folds, facial expressions —
with a level of fidelity that traditional materials simply can’t match.

🏛️ This is the same professional-grade resin used in official **tactile replicas for blind and visually impaired visitors** in public exhibitions.

📌 We want every collector to be fully informed and confident about their choice.

All images of our products for sale correspond to the final finish of our sculptures. Know what you are buying since many stores use generic images of the model to display a job and do not use images of the actual finish of the work they do. Our images are 100 x 100 real and our reviews confirm our professionalism and the quality of our work.