Marble portrait bust of a man

Art Historical Context

This striking marble portrait bust of an unidentified man, carved in the mid-3rd century CE Rome's Late Imperial period, the essence of Roman individualism. Standing at 25⅞ inches tall, the sculpture exemplifies the enduring tradition of portraiture, where elites commissioned such busts for funerary monuments, public display, or private veneration. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Rogers Fund in 8, it now resides in the Greek and Roman Art department, a window into a turbulent era marked by political upheaval and cultural shifts. Roman portrait busts like this one were m...