Portrait Head of Tiberius

CultureRoman

PeriodJulio-Claudian, reign of Tiberius

Dateca. 14 - 37 CE

MediumMarble (Paros 1)

Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art

Dimensions10 3/4" x 2' x 10" (27.3 x 61 x 25.4 cm)

Object number2003.055.001

Label TextThis portrait head comes from an over life-size statue of the second Roman emperor, Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (42 BC-37 AD). It replicates a portrait type developed after Tiberius's accession in AD 14, known as the "Copenhagen 624 type". The back of the head, which was made separately, may have included a veil, identifying the emperor as pontifex maximus (chief priest). The statue would have stood in a public space such as a forum, gymnasium or theater.

Although we can assume some resemblance, Tiberius’s official portraiture did not aim to offer a realistic representation of the emperor. Rather, it presented an idealized image that communicated a series of personal virtues and political ideologies, and that followed a model established by Tiberius’s predecessor and adopted father, Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. So, despite Tiberius having become emperor in AD 14 at the age of fifty-six, his portrait is relatively youthful, evoking the calm authority of Classical sculpture. At the same time, Tiberius’s characteristically stern mouth and slightly furrowed brow suggest a mind occupied by the responsibilities of how best to rule. His short hair is brushed forward with short sickle-shaped curls arranged across the forehead, with a fork at the center and two small tangs at the temples. This also alludes directly to portraits of Augustus, thereby emphasizing dynastic continuity.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - August 26, 2013
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 25, 2013 - Present
Published ReferencesGorny & Mosch, Kunstobjekte der Antike, Auktion 119 (October 16, 2002), 18-19, lot 3047.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2003 - February 2004.
MCCM Newsletter, September - October 2004.
Jasper Gaunt, "New Galleries of Greek & Roman Art at Emory University: The Michael C. Carlos Museum," Minerva 16 (January/February 2005): 13-17.
Jasper Gaunt, "Masterworks: The Classics - Monumental Art," Veranda (March-April, 2005): 122.
MCCM Newsletter, March - May 2006.
Joel M. LeMon, "Through the Museum with the Bible," SBL Forum, May 2006.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 54.
Susan Jaques, A Love for the Beautiful: Discovering America's Hidden Art Museums (Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 2012), 42.
Dieter Hertel, Die Bildnisse des Tiberius (Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2013), 226-27, katalog 223, tafel 140.

ProvenanceEx coll. Leo Hirschberg, Tel Aviv, Israel and Munich, Germany, until 1960. Ex Burki Collection, Zurich, Switzerland, from 1960. With Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Germany, Auktion 119, 16 October, 2002, lot. 3047. Purchased by MCCM from Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, New York.

Status

On view

Collections