This head is a fragment from Thorvaldsen’s frieze Alexander the Great’s Triumphal Entry into Babylon (inv. no. A503). It represents one of the sons (inv. nos. A835-A839) of the Babylonian provincial governor Mazæus’ (inv. no. A844). The heads on the frieze were originally in the room alongside the Great Hall of Christiansborg Palace until the palace was destroyed by fire in 1884.
After the first version of Thorvaldsen’s frieze Alexander the Great’s Triumphal Entry into Babylon had been installed in the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome in 1812, the rumour of its splendid qualities reached Copenhagen, where the marble version was commissioned from Thorvaldsen in 1818. The palace was to be taken into use on the occasion of the festivities held to mark the wedding of Prince Frederik (7) and Vilhelmine Marie on 1 November 1828.
The commission responsible for building the palace urgently requested Thorvaldsen to have the work finished in time for the festivities. However, they came to wait for several more years. Not until 16 April 1834 did Thorvaldsen announce from Rome that the last five sections of the frieze were finished.
The heads of Mazæus and his sons are fragments of a section of the frieze that was so badly damaged in the palace fire in 1884 that it was impossible to restore them or to re-install them in the present Christiansborg Palace.
