Portrait Head of a Noble or Official (175–200 CE): Art, History and Details

Portrait Head of a Noble or Official (175–200 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the 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.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait Head of a Noble or Official
• Date: 175–200 CE
• Culture: Italy, Roman, Antonine period
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 38.2 cm (15 1/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1952.260

A detail from the museum

When acquired, this portrait was thought to depict Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius (reigned AD 161–69).

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. "A Roman Imperial Portrait of Lucius Verus." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 40, no. 3 (1953): 47-50.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• Carter, Martha L. Classical Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1961.

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.