Bust of an Old Man in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, October 2009

Bust of an old man

Roman, Imperial Period, about 30 B.C.–A.D. 50

Dimensions: height x width (max.): 35.5 x 25 cm (14 x 19 13/16 in.)

Medium or Technique: Marble, from Carrara in northwest Italy

Classification: Sculpture

Accession Number: 1991.534

One sees here a man with close-cropped hair and a cap-like ridge on his forehead. He has thin, slanted brows and close-set eyes. His face is thin, drawn, and bony with sagging jowls; but he has a stong chin with dimple. The underside of was bust shaved flat near the front as if at one point the bust was adapted for another use.

Encrustation is present on the surface of the marble, especially over proper left side. There is an old gash on back of head, part of the nose is missing, and there is an old chip from the chin and edges of the bust.

Scientific Analysis: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.115 / delta18O -1.661, Attribution - Carrara, Justification (Petrographic Analysis) - maximum grain size (0.9 mm).

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/bust-of-an-old-man-265212