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Bust of a young boy
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 50
Medium/Technique
Marble, seemingly from the Greek islands
Dimensions
Overall: 24.6 × 14.9 × 10.8 cm (9 11/16 × 5 7/8 × 4 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number01.8202
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 341; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 114 (additional published references).
DescriptionDraped 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.
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.
ProvenanceBy 1901, purchased in Naples by Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), London [see note]; 1901, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 1, 1901)
NOTE: According to Warren's records.
NOTE: According to Warren's records.