Commodus is a copy of a Roman bust kept in the Vatican Museum. This replica was made of marble powder from a casting of the original by an American company specializing in this type of product. It thus offers almost perfect copies of works of art to decorate the interiors of individuals who would like to appropriate a fragment of the History of art or decorate, albeit quite pompously. The success of this enterprise is based in particular on the fact that the United States did not experience such a monumental antiquity or classical age as Europe and that neoclassicism is ultimately quite catch-all.

The statue itself represents the Emperor Commodus (161-192 AD). The beard and curly hair shows that he wished to enroll in the genealogy of Hadrian (76-138 AD) even if History recognizes that he was not up to it, far from its predecessor.

In ancient Rome, the appointment of each new emperor was followed by a major distribution of his bust within the limits of the empire in order to affirm the extent of his power and his legitimacy. An original bust was made in Rome by several artists (each specializing in anatomical details) then this one was copied by other sculptors, then copied again by local craftsmen. No one signed the final sculpture.

For Commodus, the bust is placed in a frosted glass bell which allows it to be seen only in detail, thus evoking the way in which it was made. Particular care has been taken in the design of the brass angles as a tribute to these Italian designers who redesigned the museography of the works during the first half of the 20th century.