Bust of a North African Man in the Getty Villa, June 2016

Title: Bust of an African

Artist/Maker: Unknown

Culture: Roman

Date: second half of 2nd century A.D.

Medium: Marble, crystalline

Object Number: 71.AA.437

Dimensions: 44.5 cm (17 1/2 in.)

Alternate Titles: Bust of a Man (Display Title)

Object Type: Male portrait

The distinctive features of the man portrayed in this bust include wide cheekbones, wrinkled cheeks, and fleshy skin around the eyes. His hair is curly, and he has a thick, but well-trimmed beard. His small eyes have incised lines to denote the irises, and drilled pupils. His forehead is wrinkled, and the lines on the skin of his cheeks around his mouth and nose are prominently rendered. The man wears a simple tunic with the folds of a mantle visible on his left shoulder. Channels between the locks of hair and in the ears were made by drilling, while the beard and folds of drapery are rendered by shallower incised lines. The shape of the bust, treatment of the facial hair, and drilling of the eyes indicate that the portrait was carved late in the Antonine period (A.D. 138–193).


Text from: www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/6886/unknown-maker-bust-of-an-african-roman-second-half-of-2nd-century-ad