Male bust

Inv. Scu 708

The bust, cut down beneath the chest, is clad in tunic and cloak; the head, slightly turned to right, features a young man with short, coarse hair and long beard, extensively worked with the running drill.

The slanting eyes, surmounted by brushy eyebrows, have iris and pupil incised; the nose is remarkably narrow and the lips, partly hidden by the thick moustache, are fleshy.

The shape of the bust and the working of the hair, which recalls the portraits of the emperor Pupienus, dates the sculpture to the mid-3rd century AD.


The bust was presented to the Capitoline collections by Benedetto XIV in 1744. Before being moved to the present location, the sculpture was displayed in the Sala del Fauno.