It’s publication week for Rex Juba: 15 Glimpses of an African King, so over the next few days I thought I’d post a few of those ‘glimpses’ (including why I took that approach). This bust is probably the most famous depiction we have of Juba II of Mauretania, the first-century North African client-king known as the ‘most scholarly king’. It’s the object that kicks the book off, and was the inspiration for Nick Misani’s beautiful cover too.

The bust itself is in the Museum of Civilisations, Rabat, but originated hundreds of miles inland at Volubilis, the site of Juba’s second city. It was probably intended to sit in some sort of palace or civic structure there, but this is very much not the context in which it was eventually found. The bust was found in the House of Venus, the house of a wealthy second or third century Roman who seemed to have quite the collection of antiques and artworks. Amongst them was a mosaic depicting the titillating scene when the goddess Diana and her nymphs are caught bathing by Actaean, who is turned into a stag as punishment. The owner of the bust apparently thought it hilarious to angle the bust so Juba II also appears to be peering down at the goddess…