The Cabinet of Sculpture

In the early 1850s, when the question of forming the display for the new museum arose, a systematization of the sculptural collection was undertaken. An active part was played in this process by the architect Klenze and Nicholas I himself as well as representatives of the court department. As a result, large numbers of items were moved to the museum from the Taurida Palace, the Grotto in Tsarskoye Selo, the Academy of Arts and other locations. It is possible that the purchase of ancient sculpture from the Laval and Demidov collections was prompted by this burst of activity. Thus the Hermitage became home to portraits of the Roman emperors Vespasian and Titus from the Flavian dynasty, carved in black basalt, a majestic portrait of Domitia, the wife of Emperor Domitian, a remarkable Torso of an Emperor in Armour and a green basalt torso of Athene that Nikolai Demidov had found in the ruins of Lucullus's villa near Naples.

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