ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Portrait Head of a Man

AAT Object Form/Functionportraits

AAT Object Form/Functionstatues

CultureRoman

PeriodAntonine

Datelate 2nd Century CE

MediumMarble (Dokimeion)

Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art

Dimensions15 x 8 x 10 in. (38.1 x 20.3 x 25.4 cm)

Object number2004.013.001

Label TextA male portrait head turned slightly right. He has short curly hair, a full curly beard, and a moustache concealing the upper lip. The long face is carefully modelled with pronounced brow and cheek-bones. The surface of the eyes, which are not drilled, have been roughened, perhaps for painting.

It was fashionable during the second century AD for elite Roman men to wear a beard and a full head of curly hair. This was perceived as a Greek habit, and consequently gave the impression of stylish refinement and educated sophistication. Portraits of private individuals like this one would have been inserted into busts or draped statue bodies for display either in civic or funerary contexts. Unusually, a portrait in the Musee du Louvre in Paris depicts the same subject and was likely carved by the same sculptor: although the man’s identity is no longer known, this suggests he was an important figure. Here, the curls have been rendered using distinctive drill-marks characteristic of work made during the Antonine and Severan periods.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - January 2012
Annotations: George Cooke, Thomas Hope and the Lure of Antiquitiy, The Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia, February 5 - July 22, 2012
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2012 - August 26, 2013
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 25, 2013 - Present
Published ReferencesJasper Gaunt, "New Galleries of Greek & Roman Art at Emory University: The Michael C. Carlos Museum," Minerva 16 (January/February 2005): 13-17.
Varner, Eric. 2012. "Roman authority, imperial authoriality, and Julian's artistic program". In N. J. Baker-Brian and S. Tougher (eds), Emperor and Author. The Writings of Julian the Apostate. Swansea, p. 208, fn. 84.

ProvenanceEx coll. Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green (1942-2014), United Kingdom, acquired from K. John Hewett (1919-1994), England, 1963. Purchased by Rupert Wace Ancient Art, London, England, from Lord MacAlpine. Purchased by MCCM from Rupert Wace.

Status

On view

Collections