This splendid portrait bust depicts a young man with his head turned slightly to his left. He has a full head of curly hair accentuated by deep drill work. His eyes are articulated with pupils gazing to his left. He is depicted nude with well-defined pectorals. The bust surmounts acanthus leaves atop an integral socle. That this portrait dates to the Antonine period is confirmed by comparison to portraits of Marcus Aurelius as a young man prior to his ascension to the throne. A portrait head in Rome, made around 147 on the occasion of the birth of Marcus’ first son, displays similar tousled hair and narrow almond-shaped eyes beneath heavy lids (see fig. 235 in D.E.E. Kleiner, Roman Sculpture). In contrast, however, our sitter has a comparatively slender face, small mouth and lack of facial hair. The accomplished workmanship of this portrait suggests that the man represented was an important individual, perhaps either an official of the political establishment or a wealthy landowner.
For a related bust in New York, see no. 61 in P. Zanker, Roman Portraits, Sculptures in Stone and Bronze. Of that portrait, Zanker notes its proportions recall “Classical works from the second half of the fifth century B.C., but its bones and muscles, unlike theirs, are scarcely articulated – hidden behind a uniformly smooth surface” (op. cit, p. 171). Here too we see an idealized work, an unlined face and distinct musculature. Notable, however, is the exaggerated contrast between the unruly curls and the otherwise smooth surface, demonstrating a break from Roman classicism in favor of a baroque style of portraiture that developed over the course of the late second century.