Head of a statue of Emperor Caracalla

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Provision of image

Inventory number

Ακρ. 1311

Category

Sculpture

Period

Roman Period

Date

Around AD 215

Dimensions

Height: 0.25 m
Length: 0.175 m
Width: 0.19 m

Material

Marble

Location

First Floor, North

Description
Bibliography

It comes from a bigger than life size statue. The face is wide with a prominent chin. The wrinkles on the forehead give the man a frowning expression. The top of the head is levelled and has a large, rectangular notch carved for the fitting of a separate piece of marble or some other material. According to one theory this head belongs to an acrolithic statue. The red paint preserved here and there on the hair and beard was the foundation for its final gilding, perhaps, with fine gold leaves.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, known as Caracalla was a Roman emperor from AD 198 until his assassination in AD 217. He was a fervent admirer of Alexander the Great, a potent soldier, effective politician but also one of the most bloodthirsty emperors. He ordered the assassination of members of his family and slaughtered thousands of people.

Sybel, L. von, Katalog der Sculpturen zu Athen, Marburg, 1881, σελ. 424, αρ. κατ. 6891
Casson, S., Brooke, D., Catalogue of the Acropolis Museum. Sculpture and Architectural Fragments, with a section upon the Terracottas, II, Cambridge, 1921, σελ. 222, αρ. κατ. 1311
Vermeule, C.C., Roman Imperial Art in Greece and Asia Minor, Cambridge Mass, 1968, σελ. 400, αρ. κατ. 1
Wiggers, H.B., Wegner, M., Caracalla, Geta, Plautilla-Macrinus bis Baldinus, Das roemische Herrscherbild III, Berlin, 1971, σελ. 56, εικ. 200
Fittschen, K., Zanker, P., Kaiser- und Prinzenbildnisse, Katalog der roemischen Portraets in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom 1, Mainz, 1985, σελ. 106, αρ. κατ. 106
Dontas, G., Les portraits Attiques au Musée de l’ Acropole, Grèce, volume I, fascicule 1, Académie d' Athènes, Αθήνα, 2004, σελ. 17, 78-80, εικ. 51, αρ. κατ. 68