In this head of monumental dimensions, Bartolomeo Cavaceppi recognised a portrait of Ptolemy XIII, King of Egypt between 64 and 47 BC, a member of the well-known Ptolemaic dynasty. The young virile figure, with heavily idealised traits, was later variously identified as an effigy of the lover of Emperor Adrian, Antinous, or the Greek god Apollo.
By virtue of its colossal dimensions, we may assume this head once served as a telamon: a male figure used in architecture as a column.
Inventory: MT 501a
Material: White marble
Technique: Work sculpted through the use of: chisels (also square-tipped and toothed) rasps
Dating: Imperial era
Origin: Tivoli