Roman head from southern Britain.
The stone that this head is carved from is from Italy, and the sculpture bears little resemblance to Greco-Roman heads found in Romano-British contexts, such as those from the Temple of Mithras in London. Therefore it is likely that the head was imported ready-made to Britain.
The date is difficult to pin down, but the closest stylistic resemblances are to works of the Julio-Claudian period
Letchworth Museum
Acquired in June 1995
For the site:
JRS LV (1965), 88
Antiquity XLV (1971), 225
Brittania 1974, 260 & pl. XXVII
Scott, E: Gazetteer of Roman Villas in Britain, 94
For comparison:
Poulsen, V: Les Portraits Romains vol.1, 81, no.44, pl. LXXIV-LXXV
Rediscovered in 1994 in a farm building near Radwell in Hertfordshire. Then in a private collection
