Portrait Head of Commodus

A.D. 182–190

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

34 × 16.5 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-227007

A well-preserved portrait head of Commodus. The head was carved for placement into a statue. A large cavity has been carved out from the underside with notches underneath the ears for placement into another member. A cement binder is preserved inside the cavity. The head is slightly over life size with typical portrait features of Commodus. The eyes are heavily lidded with deep lines between the upper lid and the brow. The lower lids are thin, the irises incised and the pupils drilled. The facial features are subtly modeled with shallow grooves around the eyes and between the nose and cupid-bow lips. The beard and hair are a mass of thick curls. The beard is rendered in comma-shaped locks articulated by a running drill. There is also extensive use of the running drill in the hair. Thick lobster-claw locks fall above the forehead with globular locks with much drilling around them cover the rest of the front of the head. The back and top of the head are rendered in far less articulated large globular curls and no drilling. There is a good deal of undercutting in the hair, giving it a sense of volume. The portrait is carved from a fine-grained gray-white marble and high…