CC0 · no rights reserved
Portrait Head of a Noble or Official
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A nobleman or government official is likely depicted in this portrait of a curly-haired man with a full beard. These features, together with drilled pupils and irises on the eyes, typically do not appear in Roman sculpture prior to the reign of Hadrian (AD 117–38), an admirer of Greek culture. Deeply carved beards and curls remain popular in portraiture throughout (and beyond) the Antonine period (AD 138–92), when this sculpture was probably made.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePortrait Head of a Noble or Official, 175–200 CE. Italy, Roman, Antonine period. Marble; overall: 38.2 cm (15 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1952.260
