Nerva; Trajan; Hadrian; Antoninus Pius; Lucius Verus; Marcus Aurelius; Commodus; Pertinax; Didius Julianus; Septimius Severus; Caracalla; Geta; Macrinus; Diadumenian; Elagabalus; Severus Alexander. 🖼️ Print available here.

Appearance of The Principate [Pt. III]

96–192: The Nerva–Antonine dynasty

Nerva: (UL) Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Tuscany, Italy; (R) Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo; (LL) Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne;
(UL) Glyptothek, Munich (LL) Glyptothek Munich; (LR) Museum of Art History, Vienna, Austria.
Hadrian (v1): ↖️ Vatican Museum; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany; ↙️ The British Museum, London.
Hadrian (v2) Older with much deeper tan.
Antoninus Pius: (L) Glyptothek Munich; (R) National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy.
Lucius Verus: (UL) MET; (R) Collosal head at Louvre Museum, Paris; (LL) Vatican Museums.
Marcus Aurelius (v1): ↖️ Glyptothek Munich; ↗️ Musée des Antiques de Toulouse; ↙️ Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse, France c. 170–180; (LR) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
Marcus Aurelius (v2): I was shown compelling evidence hair, can stay upright naturally as shown in all busts. Facial features more influenced by bust at ↙️ Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse, France c. 170–180.
Commodus: (L) Paul Getty Museum; Also: Commodus as Hercules; Young & Old Commodus from Capitoline Museum.
Pertinax: (L) Vatican Museums, Rome.
Didius Julianus: (UL) Vatican Museum; (LL) Capitoline Museum; (R) Christies.
Septimius Severus (v1): ↖️ Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen c. 195–211 AD; ↗️ Capitoline Museum; ↙️ Capitoline Museum; ↘️ The Severan Tondo c. 200 AD; Also: Munich Glyptotek
Septimius Severus (v2): Removal of busts with nose reconstructions. Weighted heavily to Tondo and inscribed bronze bust. ↖️ Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen; ↗️ The Severan Tondo c. 200 AD; ↙️ Capitoline Museum c. 200–210 AD; Coin AD 202–210 via CNG.
Caracalla (v1): ↖️ Vatican Museum; ↗️ Met, NYC; ↙️ The Severan Tondo; ↘️ Naples National Archaeological Museum
Caracalla (v2): It likely Geta removed from Severan Tondo due to damnatio memoriae. Simulating darker exposure with less spectacular reflections on forehead.
Caracalla (v2.1): More scowl. ↖️ Vatican Museum; ↗️ Met, NYC; ↙️ The Severan Tondo; ↘️ Capitoline Museums, Rome
Geta (v1): (UL) Capitoline Museum c.211; (UR) Presumed head of Geta; (LL) Young Geta; (LR) Louvre.
Geta (v2) Older, Darker haired. More pronounced facial hair matching Capitoline Museum and coinage via ANS
Macrinus (v1): ↖️ Capitoline Museum Rome, Italy; (UR & LR) Belgrade City Museum; (LL) Hall of Emperors Capitoline Rome, Italy.
Macrinus (v2): Previous version influenced by bust from Hall of Emperors with nose reconstruction via misidentified bust on Getty. Now more heavily weighted to bronze bust from Belgrade City Museum.
Diadumenian (v1): (UL) Uffizi Gallery; (UR) Vatican Museum; (LL) ; (LR) Cast from Innsbruck, Institute for Classical and Provincial Roman Archeology
Diadumenian (v2): Older, more influenced by older bust and speculated skin tone of father.
Elagabalus: (L) Capitoline Museum.
Elagabalus (v2.1) Older, feminine with some cosmetics. ↖️ Bust Circa 218 AD; ↗️ Capitoline Museum; ↙️ Carlsberg Glyptotek; ↘️ Cassius Dio.
Severus Alexander (v1): ↖️; ↗️ Archaeological Museum, Dion; ↙️ The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia; ↘️ Capitoline Museum. Also: Louvre
Severus Alexander (v2): Weighted more to bronze (original nose). More beard, deeper tan.

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