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Portrait head of the Emperor Domitian (A.D. 69–98) from a relief
Roman Provincial
Imperial Period
A.D. 75–95
Medium/Technique
Marble from Dokimeion (modern Afyon) in west-central Asia Minor
Dimensions
Height: 30 cm (11 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Ariel and John Herrmann
Accession Number1983.681
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), no. 044.
DescriptionSlightly over-lifesize head, turned slightly toward subject's left. Hair in two rows of curling locks around broad forehead; deep-set eyes, unexpressed pupils; mouth slightly open. Head and neck broken diagonally at back; subject's left ear, most of nose missing; chipping over right eyebrow.
Asia Minor.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI746: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.08 / delta18O -4.34, Attribution - Dokimeion, Justification - Fine grained marble with zones of large quartz-like formations.
Asia Minor.
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI746: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.08 / delta18O -4.34, Attribution - Dokimeion, Justification - Fine grained marble with zones of large quartz-like formations.
ProvenanceBy 1967, Spink and Son Ltd., London [see note 1]. December 6, 1971, anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London, lot 89, sold to D. Katz, probably Daniel Katz Gallery, London [see note 2]. Probably Herbert Cahn (b. 1915 - d. 2002; founder of Münzen und Medaillen), Basel [see note 3]; March 14-15, 1975, anonymous sale (Auktion 51), Münzen und Medaillen A.G., Basel, lot 278. By 1975, Ariel and John Herrmann; 1983, year-end gift of Ariel and John Herrmann to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 30, 1983)
NOTES: [1] Advertised in Apollo, April 1967, p. v. [2] Many thanks to Jörg Deterling for locating this record. [3] Curatorial notes state that the sculpture adorned "the office of a professor at Heidelberg University" in the early 1970s. Herbert Cahn held an honorary professorship at the University of Heidelberg from 1971 until 1986.
NOTES: [1] Advertised in Apollo, April 1967, p. v. [2] Many thanks to Jörg Deterling for locating this record. [3] Curatorial notes state that the sculpture adorned "the office of a professor at Heidelberg University" in the early 1970s. Herbert Cahn held an honorary professorship at the University of Heidelberg from 1971 until 1986.