DiscussionCuirassed statue of Tetrarch (Diocletian or Maximian?) in Milan-Munich type. Utica (Africa Proconsularis). Late third century. DESCRIPTION (Object)Over life-size statue. H (of head): 39 cm. Marble. In the under surface of the break at the neck are holes which corresponds to a dowel hole in the break surface at the base of the neck in the body. The area of shoulders has broken around this dowel. The statue is missing the left hand, wrist, and object (spear) which it held; the right forearm and hand; and the chin and nose. The eyes and eyebrows are badly batthered. The statue is supported by a large tree-trunk decorated with a cornucopia on the outside of the proper left leg. It stands on a tall oval plinth. There appears to be a rectangular area at the base of the tree trunk which was worked to receive some another object. On the plinth, both in the top surface and on the front surface, are traces of large clamps which would have held the statue to its base. The head has clearly been re-cut from an earlier portrait. Thick curly long locks are visible behind the ears. The hair of the face and of the brow is engraved in short strokes of a flat chisel. The top of the head, above the corona civica, has been simply and roughly rounded. This may have been the case even in its first use. Only the markings in the left eye are preserved. The iris is circular, and the pupil is a fine, U-shaped, engraving. PROVENANCE Both the head and the statue were found in Utica between the citadel and the Theatre. They were acquired as two separate pieces in 1824 by the museum in Leiden. DESCRIPTION (Subject) The statue shows a Roman emperor in a corona civica, cuirass, leather skirt, short tunic, chlamys, and mullei (tall decorated boots). He raises his left arm and probably once held with his left hand a vertical spear. His weight rests over his left leg; his right leg is withdrawn and the foot is raised. The head follows the action of the right arm. A cornucopia rests against a tree next to his left leg. The corona civica is large and makes the head seem small. The chlamys is draped around his neck and fastened with a round fibula on the right shoulder. The cuirass is decorated with griffins on the sides and an eagle below; it is girded by a belt (cingulum). The round flaps attached to its bottom edge are decorated with animal heads. The skirt has one row of leather straps. The head shows a mature man with a much-lined face. He has short, straight hair that comes forward. It recedes slightly over the temples, and the central locks all curl outwards without actually making a true part at the centre of the brow. The beard is light and short and remains close to the mandible. The face is broad at the level of the eyes but tapers to a small chin. The brow is broad and has a heavy crease across it. The eyes are small with wrinkles beneath the lower lids. There are folds originating at the corners of the eyes and slanting downwards into the cheeks. The naso-labial folds are deep and long. The mouth is broad, tightly closed, and downturned. The chin is small and receding. DATE AND HONORAND This re-cut portrait wears a corona civica and is thus an Emperor. Although its hair does not correspond tightly, the facial structure and physiognomy are close to a portrait type (Milan-Munich type) known in four other loose versions. These are LSA-1027, from Italy, LSA-1028 supposedly from Egypt but possibly not ancient, LSA-1030 now in Munich, and LSA-1031 possibly from Milan. Although the portrait type had been associated with Maximinus Thrax, recent scholarship has argued convincingly that it is stylistically and conceptually better placed in the Tetrarchic period. This version in particular shows the technical characteristics (hair and eyes) of the Tetrarchic period. Scholars are divided as to its identity; both Maximian and Diocletian have been proposed. The African provenance of this head has led Salomonson to forward the Maximian identification since Maximian had a successful campaign in Mauretania. Main ReferenceSalomonson, J.W . 'Ein unbekanntes Tetrarchorträt aus Nord Afrika in Leiden', Oudheidkundige mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden 41, Leiden 1960, 59-68, pls. 27-33 (Maximian)Discussion ReferencesBlanck, H., Wiederverwendung alter Statuen als Ehrendenkmäler bei Griechen und Römern, Rome 1969, 33-4, no. A 7, pl. 7 L'Orange, H. P., Das spätantike Herrscherbild von Diokletian bis zu den Konstantin-Söhnen, 284-361 n. Chr. Das Römische Herrscherbild. III. Abteilung ; Bd. 4 , Berlin 1984, 98, pl. 12a-b |
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