Portrait head of a «kosmetes» – Hadrian and Athens

Provenance: Athens, «Diogeneion». height: 0.31 m. Marble: Pentelic.
Chronology: 260-270 AD. EAM 400

The portrait depicts a mature bearded man. The short hair, combed to the front, and the short beard are rendered in shallow relief; both are worked with a fine point. The head evokes spirituality, following the contemporary trend of the portraits of the neoplatonic philosophers of the Gallienus’ period.