Portrait of Elagabalus or Alexander Severus in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, January 2018

Bust of Elagabalus
Roman
Imperial Period
A.D. 218–222

Medium/Technique: Marble from Göktepe, Turkey (near Aphrodisias)

Dimensions: Overall: 71 × 30.5 × 53.3 cm (27 15/16 × 12 × 21 in.)

Credit Line: Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund

Accession Number: 1977.337

Collections: Ancient Greece and Rome

Classifications: Sculpture

Catalogue Raisonné Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), no. 051.

Description: Bust of the Emperor Elagabalus. The length of the bus extends to mid-chest and includes the shoulders and upper arms. Elagabalus is depicted as a clean-shaven young man with a circular face, full cheeks, small mouth with full lips, and narrow almond-shaped eyes framed by heavy lids. The head is turned gently to the right and the gaze is directed away from the viewer. The hair of his eyebrows are lightly feathered. He has a short but wide forehead. His hair is worn short, conforming to the shape of his skull, and is composed of short comma-shaped locks. He wears a style of toga known as the toga contabulata. It is distinguished by a horizontal band of stacked drapery that runs from about mid-chest to over the left shoulder.

Most of the nose is missing, from mid ridge to the right nostril. There is a break in the right shoulder that goes through to the back and extends toward the left shoulder. There is also a second break closer to the end of the right shoulder. Both breaks have been repaired. Patches of a high polish are visible near the temples, cheeks, and throughout the drapery folds. There are also patches of discoloration and rootmarks on the face, as well as reddish discolorations on the right chest and in the folds over the right arm. The base and tabula are not original.

Scientific Analysis: University of South Florida Lab No. 8439: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.6 / delta18O -2.7.

Attribution - Göktepe 3-4, Turkey (near Aphrodisias). Justification - C and O isotopes, fine grain, pure white, considerable translucence
Provenance1977, sold by Etablissement D.C., Liechtenstein, through Antiken Heinz Herzer, Munich, to the MFA [see note]. (Accession Date: June 9, 1977)

Text from: collections.mfa.org/objects/155947/bust-of--elagabalus