Head of Germanicus

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The bust's model has been hard to pinpoint due to its unique hairstyle, which does not match any known portraits of Augustus or his grandchildren, including Caius, Lucius Caesar, and Agrippa Postumus. Clearly executed after Caius's death in 4 A.D., the face can only be that of Germanicus, Livia's grandson, who married Agrippina the Elder, Augustus's granddaughter, in 5 A.D. Germanicus frequently accompanied Augustus on military campaigns between his adoption by Tiberius in 4 A.D. and Augustus's death ten years later, resulting in a plethora of portraits like this one during that period, datable to between 8 and 10 A.D. Germanicus would only begin to be represented again posthumously as of 19 A.D., after being cast aside by Tiberius. Three hairstyle types are attributed to Germanicus: the "Béziers," "Gabii," and "Corinto-Stoccarda" types, with similarities between the "Corinto-Stoccarda" capillary features and hairstyles worn by Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, making the "Corinto-Stoccarda" a posthumous type like the "Gabii." However, this concurrence seems unlikely since another type, the "Béziers," is still evident in 23 A.D. In its current state, this male head appears as a mask consisting of the face and front of the neck. The back of the sculpture was cut away on three planes: a vertical or occipital plane, a nearly horizontal or summit plane, and an oblique or right temporal plane. Beneath the Adam's apple, the neck has been broken along three lines, with traces of polychromy surviving in the hair, particularly in the hollows of the locks on the right side of the head and above the left eye. Roman-era heads constructed out of several pieces often featured painted hair, lips, eyes, and clothing to conceal joints and fillings, offsetting any aesthetic drawback. The technique was a result of economic, social, and technical factors: sculptors found the cost of raw materials too high to abandon large pieces of marble, while in an attempt to divide labor, actual portraits were sculpted by specialists, and hair was made by younger or less talented workmen from one or two pieces already added to the head. This portrait could be part of the velato capite type known to include two portraits of Germanicus. However, here the bond lines are not symmetrical: the line above the left temple does not correspond to the one on the right. Joined surfaces were crafted differently. Originally, the top of the skull was set on a join bed studded with small recesses, but following an accident, the back of the head had to be planed down to attach a piece with a mortise; the top of the skull, now loose, was reattached with the same system. A shock to the right temple probably required the attachment of a third element, which was simply glued, possibly in the modern era. This second accident may have caused the irregular break around the neck. A third mishap may have led to the head being abandoned and, later, all the additions being removed.