Complete Description

A Roman marble portrait of the Emperor Caracalla,

Circa 200 A.D

Tête masculine de l'empereur Caracalla encore enfant, représenté le visage juvénile, les joues pleines, la chevelure bouclée abondante, le regard vers la droite.

Front et nez restaurés.

Dim. : 41 x 20 cm

Provenance:

Ancienne collection particulière française, Lyon, années 1950

Christie's, Londres, 30 avril 2008: n°176 (ill.)

Collection Christian Levett, Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins

Exhibitions:

Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), Mougins, France, Juin 2011-Août 2023

Bibliography:

J. Pollini, "Roman Marble Sculpture" in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, France, 2011, p.103, fig. 61

Comment:

Caracalla (188–217), the first son of Emperor Septimius Severus, was born in 188 CE in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon) under the name Lucius Septimius Bassianus. Appointed Caesar and later Augustus in his youth by his father as part of a plan to establish the new ruling dynasty, he became co-emperor with his younger brother Geta in 211 CE. Caracalla’s reign was marked by violence, beginning with the assassination of his brother to secure sole power. He is remembered for his authoritarian and bloody rule, but also for his grand architectural legacy, notably commissioning one of the largest bath complexes ever built in antiquity in Rome, which symbolized both imperial luxury and Roman engineering prowess.