Paus collection

Paus was heir to one of Norway's largest timber companies (Tostrup & Mathiesen) and was a papal chamberlain and count, who lived for several years in Rome, where he acquired the collection with the assistance of several Scandinavian art historians.

In the late 19th century, as Italy transitioned from feudalism to a modern economy, Rome's rapid urban expansion and construction uncovered numerous antiques.

This situation made it possible for wealthy foreign art collectors – such as Paus and Carl Jacobsen, founder of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek – to build extensive collections.

In the early 20th century, one could freely buy and export antique objects from Italy as long as they were not of great national value, and therefore, there was a good availability of Roman sculptures in the art market.

Paus frequented antiquity dealers in Rome to build up his collection, which mainly consisted of portraits.The bust of Trajan was given to the National Gallery in 1923 and was the first original Roman imperial portrait in Norwegian ownership.

It includes busts of emperors such as Galba, Trajan, Lucius Verus, and (probably) Commodus, empress Julia Domna, Ptolemy of Mauretania, and numerous Roman women.