October the 26th, 2026 – A stunning marble torso of a Roman Emperor that originated from Salona in Croatia was sold in New York for over $34 million. The head is likely still buried somewhere in Croatian soil.
Croatian cultural heritage is breaking records. Ana Vela reports for Dnevnik that a remarkable marble torso of a Roman emperor originating from Salona was sold across the pond in New York for over $34 million. With that, it set the record for the highest price a Roman antiquity has ever achieved at any auction. At the same time, a painting by Croatian artist Vlaho Bukovac also set a record with its sale in Vienna. This is the story of artworks whose value has skyrocketed.
After 15 minutes of bidding, the fall of the hammer marked a sale at a price almost three times higher than the starting estimate for the Salona torso. “When I heard how much it was sold for and that it was more than $34 million, I was shocked because in 2010, it was sold for seven million, and at that time, it was estimated at one to one and a half million dollars. Perhaps then there was a realistic chance of participating in the auction. However, this amount is, in my opinion, beyond all reason,” said Dražen Maršić from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Zadar.
croatia could unfortunately do nothing but watch the sale…
“We even considered whether it would be possible to find some funds, but an amount of $34 million is truly enormous and exceeds the budget for the construction and equipping of an entire new museum,” said Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Minister of Culture and Media.
The torso is otherwise part of a collection put up for sale by an anonymous collector. “It’s the most significant item at the auction. It is a Roman torso from the first half of the first century,” said Calvine Harvey, the auction specialist. Croatian experts had long been convinced that it was lost forever. New information arrived in 2010 when it first appeared at auction. “Around 1857, an ancestor of the then owners, Aloys Maximilian Neumann, bought the torso from a collector in Split,” said Maršić. There were no legal obstacles and therefore no basis for a restitution claim. “It’s a legally sold work of art that left the territory of Croatia a long time ago,” the Croatian minister explained.
The new owner is unknown. “If we find out who now owns it, whether a collector or a museum, then we will try to have it come to an exhibition in Croatia,” the minister added. Hope remains that the head of the Roman emperor is still somewhere in Salona. “There is a realistic possibility that the head is still buried somewhere, either in an archaeological context or buried as was done with similar objects of Roman art during the early years of Christianity,” said Maršić.
vlaho bukovac also wows in vienna
From Vienna comes another record auction news. Vlaho Bukovac’s “Pink Dream” was sold for almost half a million euros, becoming the most expensive Croatian painting ever sold at an official auction. “The moment when we can reach for restitution is when we can establish that the artwork was illegally taken out,” concluded Obuljen Koržinek.
