Head of Trajan (100–200 CE): Art, History and Details

Head of Trajan (100–200 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Though this portrait head has many of the features associated with the emperor Trajan, such as his short, comma-shaped forelocks, other aspects of the statue are unusual. For example, all other known portraits of Trajan depict him as clean shaven, but this one appears to have facial hair. Provincial portraits—that is, those made outside of Italy—could sometimes differ dramatically from imperial standards. This head may be an example of provincial experimentation.

Object facts

• Title: Head of Trajan
• Date: 100–200 CE
• Culture: Italy, Roman
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 9 cm (3 9/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1925.468

A detail from the museum

Drilled pupils only began appearing on Roman portrait statues after Trajan’s death in 117 CE; their appearance here could be a later addition.

Collection credit

Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Two Imperial Roman Portraits." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 12, no. 6, (July 1925): 123-124
• The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Fakes and Forgeries, edited by Susan Brown. Minneapolis, MN: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1973.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.