An Over Life-Size Roman Marble Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian

Nerva–Antonine Period, Circa 117-138 A.D.

Height 13 inches (33.02 cm).

Property from a Private West Coast Collection

Provenance:

Private Collection, Italy.

Telearte, Rome, Antique Art Collection, 16 March 2022, Lot 2. [where described as 19th Century]

Private Collection, Bavaria, Germany.

Hampel Auctions, Munich, Sculpture & Works of Art, 21 March 2024, Lot 93.

“In stature he was tall, in appearance elegant; his hair was curled on a comb and his beard was full, to cover the natural blemishes of his face…” (S.H.A., Hadr., 26.1)

Featuring a beard of plastically rendered curls closely conforming to the contours of the jaw and thick wavy hair brushed forward in tiers from the crown and cropped into a bouncy fringe the present portrait is instantly recognizable as that of Hadrian. While bad skin is given as his rationale for adopting a beard in the Scriptores, the choice is likely related to the emperor’s famous philhellenism and admiration for hallowed Greek statesmen and philosophers and one that would transform Roman self-representation (both imperial and private) – no emperor wore a beard before him, and none would go without after. The skin is shown unlined around his almond-shaped eyes and the smooth planes of his high cheeks, another notable characteristic of his portraiture, which does not betray appreciable signs of aging although he was in his forties when he ascended to the throne.

His unusually long reign and penchant for royal tours contributed to the unprecedented diffusion of the royal image across the empire, with his travels inspiring anticipatory and commemorative statues, particularly in the East. More portraits of Hadrian survive than any other emperor’s (with the exception of Augustus). While seven portrait ‘types’ have been identified, not all of the over 250 known examples (including the present one) fit neatly into these designations, owing in large part to differences in regional style and contexts of display. The present head is tilted slightly downward and to the left, imparting a somewhat benevolent expression and making a full-length format more plausible than a simple bust. The best parallels are Eastern, with the most famous coming from Crete (Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Turkey, Inv. no. 50) where the emperor is shown trampling a much smaller enemy and a more fragmentary standing, laureate example with similar head-tilt from El Djem, Tunisia (see Evers, cat. no. 133).

M. Wegner, “Verzeichnis der Bildnisse von Hadrian und Sabina.” Boreas: Münstersche Beiträge zur Archäologie 7 (1984), p. 113; K. Fittschen and P. Zanker, Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen Kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Band I: Kaiser- und Prinzenbildnisse (Zabern, 1985), p. 63-90; C. Evers, Les portraits d’Hadrien: Typologie et ateliers (Académie Royale de Belgique, 1994; A.R. Birley, A.R. “Hadrian’s Travels.” In The Representation and Perception of Roman Imperial Power (Leiden, 2003).