Advanced Search 
View: Front
Bust of a young man
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 140–165
Medium/Technique
Marble, probably from the Greek island of Paros
Dimensions
Overall: 82 × 27.9 × 52.1 cm (32 5/16 × 11 × 20 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Denman Waldo Ross Collection
Accession Number24.419
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 359; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 115 (additional published references).
DescriptionBust of an unknown man. The man has large, wide-open eyes with incised irises and pupils. The pupils are located near the upper lid, giving the appearance that the man is looking up and away from the viewer. The eyes also bulge outwards and are set beneath curved brows with incised eyebrows, modeled in relief. He has an aquiline nose, full lips, and a dimple in his chin. There is a lightly incised moustache that does not connect to the incised beard that runs under his chin and along the edges of his jawline. The beard is rendered in short staccato marks of the chisel. The skin of his forehead, cheeks, and neck is highly polished. His hair is a mass of tightly bound spiral curls that have been masterfully created by use of the chisel and drill. The locks of his forehead are deeply undercut. The length of the bust extends past the pectorals and includes the shoulders and upper portion of the arms. The man wears a tunica and paludamentum (military cloak) clasped at his right shoulder with a decorative fibula. The shape of the fibula is echoed in the decorative carving on the tabula below. The hems of the garments have been indicated by incised lines.
The head, bust, and tabula are carved from the same block of stone. The facial features - the eyes and areas around the beard - of the portrait were recut, likely during the third century. There is minor damage to parts of the hair and drapery. Portions of the surface have been cleaned with acid, giving the surface a delicate, light yellow to golden brown discoloration.
Scientific Analysis:
Marble has been scientifically tested with X-Ray Diffraction and determined to be Calcitic.
University of South Florida Lab number 8434-5: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.46, 2.1 / delta18O -3.5, -3.37, Attribution - Probably Paros 2, Possibly Naxos-Melanes, Justification - C and O isotopes, coarse-grained marble.
The head, bust, and tabula are carved from the same block of stone. The facial features - the eyes and areas around the beard - of the portrait were recut, likely during the third century. There is minor damage to parts of the hair and drapery. Portions of the surface have been cleaned with acid, giving the surface a delicate, light yellow to golden brown discoloration.
Scientific Analysis:
Marble has been scientifically tested with X-Ray Diffraction and determined to be Calcitic.
University of South Florida Lab number 8434-5: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.46, 2.1 / delta18O -3.5, -3.37, Attribution - Probably Paros 2, Possibly Naxos-Melanes, Justification - C and O isotopes, coarse-grained marble.
ProvenanceBy 1924: Denman Waldo Ross Collection (said to be from Egypt); gift of Denman Waldo Ross to MFA, November 8, 1924