Portrait on Modern Bust, Called Sulla or Psuedo-Albinus

The portrait, coming from Villa Albani, bears the image of a resolute, concentrated aged man. The face is framed by wavy locks around the forehead, which is marked by wrinkles, the eyes are small, the flesh of the cheeks and neck lie in slabby masses. Formerly the portrait was identified as Aulus Postumius Albinus, consul in 99 BC, based on comparisons with coins which are no longer judged relevant. In Villa Albani the portrait was labelled as Sulla, consul in 88 BC, and exhibited in the Lungara Museum with this same identification, which amplified the Gallery of more than a hundred portraits of illustrious men of the time. However, the importance of the subject is witnessed by numerous copies, spread also beyond Rome, that appeared at least until the late first century AD. It is possible to assume that the subject must have been a person of great prominence in the Roman Republic. In this regard the identification of the portrait as Cato the Censor has been received favorably.

Inventory: MT 508

Material: White marble

Technique: Work sculpted through the use of: chisels (also square-tipped and toothed) rasps

Dating: Imperial age

Origin: Villa Albani