Lucretius' Appearance - Research into What He Looked Like

For the time being I'll start this thread with this. I know we can find information about the Lucretius ring in the introduction to one of Munro's editions to his Lucretius. And I clipped that photo of the ring somewhere, so that exists on the internet too, but I don't know where the original is located. The sketches in the second picture are, on the left, from the sketchbook of Herculaneum discoveries (need link) and the one on the right is from the Munro book.

An article I clipped somewhere -- not in English, but good pictures and possibly can be read through translators:

https://www.academia.edu/12743…ulliconografia_lucreziana

I hate it when I can't find something. I just posted a copy of the above into a facebook thread, and I'd like to be able to post a link to where the photo of the original can be seen. If anyone comes across that please add it to this thread. I know I have seen an entry in a book or a museum page where I originally got this (the image on the left)

.

Wow that does sort of match the ring! Do we know anything about the background of that statue?

I can't believe that Munro would not have made note of that statue - and Munro was the original source of my info on that ring, as he put it on his copy of his translation.

Is it possible that statue is newer than the late 1800s, and that the statue was inspired by the ring?

If we are able to determine that that bust is ancient we will really want to start highlighting it.

If we determine it is modern we will still likely want to use it as a good reconstruction based on the ring.

Either way this is well worth investigating and documenting.

And trying to get more angles and better pictures.

Great finds, Joshua! Also we need some eye comparisons:

Does it look to people here like the bust in the gardens was modeled after, or with reference to, or with intent to extrapolate from, the ring?

Or is there no intended or accidental resemblance at all?

Joshua I have not seen that Cameo before. Possible, but do you know anything about it? Maybe in your research tomorrow,

Godfrey the etched version you find is indeed the one I have found to be "standard" over the years. To me, that one doesn't look much at all like the ring, so I suspect it is unrelated, but again no idea where it came from

Thanks to all. I'd like to get some better pictures of that bust Nate found cause that looks to me like a reasonable likeness of the ring.

But I will suspend judgment waiting on Joshua!

Quote from Don

My only question would be: do we *know* it's Lucretius the poet and not another 1st c. BCE member of the gens Lucretia:

I love the way you phrased that question. It calls for both a history debate, or even more so, a canonics discussion on the proper definition to be given to the word "know!"