Roman Marble Portrait of Agrippina The Elder

This life-size head was carved from a fine-grained marble. The shape of the posterior part suggests that it would have been part of a statue rather than of a simple bust.

It represents an adult woman. Her head is slightly turned to the right, her large eyes are almond-shaped, her gaze is directed downwards. Her hair, parted in the middle, is arranged in corkscrew curls that cover the ears, and in an elaborate combination of long braids that frame the face and end in a ponytail at the nape of the neck. This hairstyle is a distinctive feature of Agrippina the Elder.

A comparison with contemporary coins, engraved gems and marble or bronze portraits of this distinguished imperial figure of the 1st century A.D. would support this hypothesis.

Agrippina the Elder (ca. 14-33 A.D.) was a relative to the first Roman Emperors (Julio-Claudian dynasty): she was the wife of the prominent general Germanicus, and the mother of the Emperor Caligula and Agrippina the Younger. She was also the granddaughter of Augustus, the sister-in-law, stepdaughter and daughter-in-law of Tiberius, the second cousin and sister-in-law of Claudius, and the maternal grandmother of Nero.

In many ways, she continued to exemplify the virtues fostered by Augustus and found in other Julio-Claudian women. Agrippina the Elder was much loved by the Roman aristocracy and her portraits were very popular.

Head and upper bust in excellent condition, but the skullcap was repaired with minor gap-fills, the nose and chin were partially restored, a few locks are lost. Some elements of the hairstyle were made separately (plaster) and then attached with small tenons.

Ex- G. Fischer collection (1888-1936), Germany; by descent, collection of the Fischer family until 2013.

JOHANSEN F., Catalogue of Roman Portraits I (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek), Copenhagen, 1994, nos. 63, 65.

DE KERSAUSON K., Catalogue des portraits romains (Musée du Louvre), Tome I: Portraits de la République et de l’époque Julio-Claudienne, Paris, 1986, nos. 60-61, pp. 132-135.

FITTSCHEN K. – ZANKER P., Katalog der römischen Porträts in den capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Mainz/Rhine, vol. III, 1983, p. 5, no. 4, pl. 4-5 (Agrippina the Elder).