Portrait Head of Emperor Vespasian, Recut from Head of Nero

AD 64–79

Portrait Head of Emperor Vespasian, Recut from Head of Nero, AD 64–79. Italy, Roman. Marble; overall: 40 x 21.6 x 24.9 cm (15 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 9 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1929.998 Although this portrait head was designed to fit into a statue of a body, it did not originally belong with the togate body that held it when purchased by the museum in 1929. In 1973, the two were separated, and the body is now in storage. The head itself was recarved in antiquity, from a likeness of Nero to one of Vespasian, following the damnatio memoriae (condemnation of memory) of the former. A line at the back of head shows clearly where the long hair of Nero has been shortened, while other Neronian features, such as a receding lower lip, remain. Originally a portrait of Emperor Nero, this head was recarved after his damnatio memoriae (condemnation of memory).