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Head of Domitian in the guise of Hercules
Roman
Imperial Period
81-96 A.D.
Place of Manufacture: Italy (Central)
Medium/Technique
Marble from Carrara in northwest Italy
Dimensions
Overall: 20.5 × 13.3 × 15.2 cm (8 1/16 × 5 1/4 × 6 in.)
Credit Line
Frank B. Bemis Fund
Accession Number1978.227
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), no. 045.
DescriptionUnder-life sized head, probably of the emperor Domitian idealized as Hercules. The head features the heavy poplar leaves wreath tied with a broad fillet, cauliflower ears, turn of the head, and furrowed brow of the young Hercules of the Genzano type. However, the hair combed into several tiers of neat curls over the forehead is typical of the Flavian period. The pupils are slightly delineated.
The head was broken off at the base of the neck and the left eyebrow and lips are damaged. Several of the leaves and the ends of the fillet are badly damaged, and the nose is entirely missing. Otherwise, the head is in an excellent condition with a smooth surface and only slight incrustations on the rear of the head.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI742: Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.40 / delta18O -1.69 and Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.21 / delta18O -1.69, Harvard Lab No. HI1535: Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.21 / delta18O -1.61, Attribution - Carrara, Justification - Good quality, fine grained marble.
The head was broken off at the base of the neck and the left eyebrow and lips are damaged. Several of the leaves and the ends of the fillet are badly damaged, and the nose is entirely missing. Otherwise, the head is in an excellent condition with a smooth surface and only slight incrustations on the rear of the head.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI742: Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.40 / delta18O -1.69 and Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.21 / delta18O -1.69, Harvard Lab No. HI1535: Isotope ratios - delta13C +3.21 / delta18O -1.61, Attribution - Carrara, Justification - Good quality, fine grained marble.
Provenance1938/1939, art market, Rome [see note 1]. Private collection, Chicago [see note 2]. 1978, Edward H. Merrin Gallery, New York; 1978, sold by Merrin Gallery to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 13, 1978)
NOTES:
[1] Recorded by the German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut) as being on the art market, Rome, as of January 5, 1939. See the Inventarbuch 1938 (vol. 28), Rome, 1938, page 111, accessible on http://arachne.uni-koeln.de. Photo no. 3241, Negative no. 1938.1533. Many thanks to Jörg Deterling for locating this record. [2] C. C. Vermeule and M. B. Comstock, Sculpture in Stone and Bronze in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1988), p. 54, no. 45.
NOTES:
[1] Recorded by the German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut) as being on the art market, Rome, as of January 5, 1939. See the Inventarbuch 1938 (vol. 28), Rome, 1938, page 111, accessible on http://arachne.uni-koeln.de. Photo no. 3241, Negative no. 1938.1533. Many thanks to Jörg Deterling for locating this record. [2] C. C. Vermeule and M. B. Comstock, Sculpture in Stone and Bronze in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1988), p. 54, no. 45.