Portrait Head of Young Man

10 B.C.E.-20. C.E.

This head is one of a small group of portraits, made in Egypt and exported to the Roman market shortly after Octavian, later the Emperor Augustus, conquered Egypt in 31 B.C.E. Although the stone and probably the workmanship are Egyptian, the hairstyle and the neck’s gentle turn to the right are typical of Roman and Greek statues. Portraits made in this period but intended for the Egyptian market look similar but have a back pillar and stare straight ahead, like the nearby black-stone Head of an Egyptian Official.