Entertainment · Books & Arts · 10 hrs ago
Roman emperor statue fragment sells for record $34.3 million
A marble torso of a Roman emperor sold for $34.3 million at Sotheby’s in New York.
The fragment is about three and a half feet tall and dates to the first century CE, during the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Sotheby’s said the sale set an auction record for a Roman antiquity.
The sculpture had been estimated at $8 million to $12 million, and its final price was nearly three times the high estimate.
It last sold at Sotheby’s in 2010 for $7.36 million, so its price has more than quadrupled since then.
The statue is thought to have come from Dalmatia and was hidden inside a family home in Austria near the end of World War II.
It made up more than half of the evening’s $63 million sales, as Sotheby’s continues auctioning objects from the same collection in New York and Paris through 2027.
A marble torso of a Roman emperor sold for $34.3 million at Sotheby’s, which called it an auction record for a Roman antiquity.
The 1st-century CE fragment depicts an emperor in a bronze cuirass and stands three and a half feet tall.
The work sold for nearly three times its high estimate after a 14-minute bidding war.
Sotheby’s last sold the statue in 2010 for $7.36 million.
The torso came from a collection whose 600 objects are due to be auctioned at sales through 2027.
- Who
- The buyer was not identified. Sotheby’s sold the sculpture.
- What
- A marble torso of a Roman emperor sold for $34.3 million, a record for a Roman antiquity according to Sotheby’s.
- When
- Wednesday night, the article published on October 22, 2026.
- Where
- At Sotheby’s in New York.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Neumann family hid the sculpture between two doors and plastered over the portals as Soviet troops advanced into Austria.
Sotheby’s sold the statue for $7.36 million to an Austrian collector.
The statue sold at Sotheby’s New York auction for $34.3 million after a 14-minute bidding war.
Further sales of objects from the collection are planned in New York and Paris.
- Sale price
- $34.3 million
- Presale estimate
- $8 million–$12 million
- Height
- Three and a half feet
- Date of sculpture
- 1st century CE
- Prior sale
- $7.36 million at Sotheby’s in 2010
- Collection size
- 600 objects
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What people are saying
The sculpture embodies the cross-category vision at the heart of this collection: a work whose historical importance, rarity and aesthetic power transcend traditional collecting boundaries.
Few ancient marbles combine such remarkable preservation, scholarly significance and visual impact, and tonight’s result reflects the enduring appeal of truly exceptional objects.