/internal/media/dispatcher/1541018/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailBust of a young boyabout A.D. 50Overall: 24.6 × 14.9 × 10.8 cm (9 11/16 × 5 7/8 × 4 1/4 in.)Marble, seemingly from the Greek islandsHenry Lillie Pierce Fund01.82021Draped bust of a young boy, probably two or three years old, with the head slightly turned to the right. The hair is combed over the forehead in straight bangs. The mouth is slightly open and the small chin hides a fold underneath. The bust was probably inserted in a herm as indicated by the tenon and plaster visible on the underside.
Portraits of small children were popular in the Julio-Claudian period, but the fact that the bust is draped and includes more of the breast than is usual suggests that the portrait is to be dated in the later period. Portraits of the young Nero about A.D. 50 parallel this likeness of an unknown child in arrangement of the hair, drapery, and in stylistic details.
Only the tip of the nose is missing; the edge of the drapery is chipped and the cheeks and right eyebrow show slight damage. The shiny, slightly pitted surface indicates that the bust was treated with acid to remove thick, brown burial accretions still visible at the back of the head and under the bust. The locks at the nape and back left side of the head were recut in antiquity.
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