Portrait Head of a Woman, Probably the Empress Faustina Minor
Unknown Artist
c. 165 CE
Medium
marble
Dimensions
h. 25.4 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1925.161
About this artwork
Acquired in 1925, this head was initially identified as a portrait of the Empress Lucilla (lived AD 149-182), wife of the Emperor Lucius Verus, who co-ruled with Marcus Aurelius from AD 161-169. More recently, scholars have identified the portrait as a representation of the Empress Faustina Minor (lived c. AD 130-176/177), wife of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180) and mother of Lucilla. The two women, relatively close in age, share a number of portrait features: heavy-lidded eyes, with incised irises...