DiscussionPortrait head of Valentinian I (or Valens) in Conservatori-Copenhagen-Uffizi type. From Rome. 364-378 DESCRIPTION (Object)Over life-size head. H: 30 cm. White marble. The head is broken horizontally through the mouth. The back of the head, the left side of the cheek, and the nose are missing. The crown over the centre and left side of the brow is broken. The hair is worked with a flat chisel. The pupils are thick, almost circular, crescent-shaped hollows. The inner corners of the eyes have been deeply drilled. PROVENANCE Purchased in 1895 in Rome. According to Johansen III, it is possibly to be associated with an entry in F. Matz and F. Von Duhn, Antike Bildwerke in Rom I (1881) no. 1933 which reads, ‘Baths of Caracalla. Head of an emperor of the Constantinian period. The plain, brushed-forward hair is encircled by a ring of the same width all around which is decorated with pearls and inset precious stones. The right and lower part of the head are damaged; the entire back is missing.’ This seems a plausible association. DESCRIPTION (Subject) The head shows a clean-shaven mature Emperor who wears a diadem. The hair falls over the brow in a thick arching fringe of locks which turn inwards. The diadem consists of an upper and lower frame of rounded stones (pearls) and an inner band of rectangular and diamond-shaped jewels. The brow has a high horizontal crease and two vertical furrows directly above the root of the nose. The eyebrows rise sharply above the outer half of the eyes. The inner corners of the eyes swing upwards. HONORAND The diadem indicates that this is the portrait of an Emperor. The portrait is based on the same model as LSA-582 and LSA-597. DATE The contraction of the brow does not appear on portraits identified with the Constantinian dynasty nor to those assigned to the Theodosian dynasty. The hairstyle also seems to belong between that of the Constantinian dynasty and the Theodosian one. The portrait is therefore traditionally ascribed to the Valentinian family. It is generally thought to represent either Valentinian or Valens. Main ReferenceJohansen, F. , Catalogue of the Roman Portraits III; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, (Copenhagen 1995), 178-9, no. 78Delbrueck, R., Spätantike Kaiserporträts. Von Constantinus Magnus bis zum Ende des Westreichs , Leipzig 1933, 178-9, pl. 78 Discussion ReferencesFittschen, K. and P. Zanker, Katalog der Porträts in den Capitolischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Band I, Mainz 1985, 158, under no. 126 no. 2, Beilage 95c Stichel, R. H. W., Die römische Kaiserstatue am Ende der Antike, Roma 1982, 41, pl. 4 |
[Sleeker_special_clear]