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Head of Domitian
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 64–68, recarved about A.D. 69–75
Place of Manufacture: Italy, Lazio, Tusculum
Medium/Technique
Marble, from Carrara in northwest Italy
Dimensions
Overall: 37.5 × 24.1 × 22.9 cm (14 3/4 × 9 1/2 × 9 in.)
Credit Line
Benjamin Pierce Cheney Donation
Accession Number88.639
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 345; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 115 (additional published references).
DescriptionDomitian (Emperor A.D. 81-96) is the subject of this life-sized portrait, probably made about A.D. 69-75 when his father Vespasian and his brother Titus were co-emperors. The large ears, the fleshy eyes with small upper lids and heavy lower ones, and the style of the hair around the ears show that the portrait was originally of the Emperor Nero (A.D. 54-68) and was probably executed is the last four years of his reign. After Nero's death, the similarities in appearance between Nero and Domitian (at that time an imperial prince) allowed this portrait to be recut into an image of Domitian.
The Neronian hairstyle and the full hair over the temples suggest that this portrait is probably one of the earlier types of Domitian's portraiture, executed between A.D. 69 and A.D. 75.
The plaster tip of the nose has now been removed; the face and hair have been cleaned. The neck was worked for insertion in a togate statue.
Scientific Analysis:
University of South Florida Lab No. 8426: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.8 / delta18O -1.5,
Attribution - Carrara. Justification - C and O isotopes, fine grain
The Neronian hairstyle and the full hair over the temples suggest that this portrait is probably one of the earlier types of Domitian's portraiture, executed between A.D. 69 and A.D. 75.
The plaster tip of the nose has now been removed; the face and hair have been cleaned. The neck was worked for insertion in a togate statue.
Scientific Analysis:
University of South Florida Lab No. 8426: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.8 / delta18O -1.5,
Attribution - Carrara. Justification - C and O isotopes, fine grain
ProvenanceSold by Alessandro Fausti (dealer), Frascati, Italy to Rodolfo Lanciani (b. 1846 – d. 1929), Rome [see note]; 1888, sold by Lanciani to the MFA for $493.92 [purchase price for MFA accession nos. 88.538-88.644 and 89.9 - 89.31]. (Accession Date: January 1, 1888)
NOTE: According to information provided by Lanciani, the head was found at Tusculum (Tuscolo, Italy) in the ruins of Domitian's villa and formed part of the Municipal Museum at Frascati. When the museum collection was broken up, the syndic of Frascati gave it to Alessandro Fausti. Fausti then sold the head to Lanciani.
NOTE: According to information provided by Lanciani, the head was found at Tusculum (Tuscolo, Italy) in the ruins of Domitian's villa and formed part of the Municipal Museum at Frascati. When the museum collection was broken up, the syndic of Frascati gave it to Alessandro Fausti. Fausti then sold the head to Lanciani.