Marble Portrait of Livia in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sept. 2007

Marble portrait of Livia
Roman, Early Imperial, Tiberian, ca. 14-37 AD

Accession # 18.145.45

This well-executed head does not seek to be a lifelike portrait but depicts Livia as an idealized youthful figure. Born in 58 BC, Livia would have been in her seventies or eighties when it was carved, probably in the reign of her son Tiberius. As the emperor Augustus' wife, she exerted enormous influence over the imperial court, and even after his death in 14 AD, she retained her prestige by association with the deified Augustus, the ruling emperor Tiberius, and her other descendants who included the future emperors Gaius (Caligula), Claudius, and Nero.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.