Ancient Roman statuary at the Metropolitan Museum of New York: TESTA DI ANTINO -- Gift of Bronson Pinchot, in recognition of Rosina Asta.

Speranza

Marble portrait head of Antinoo
Period: Late Hadrianic
Date: ca. A.D. 130–138
Culture: Roman
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: Overall: 24.1 x 21 cm
Classification: Stone Sculpture
Credit Line: Gift of Bronson Pinchot, in recognition of his mother Rosina Asta Pinchot, 1996
Accession Number: 1996.401

Antinoo, the young beloved of the Roman emperor ADRIANO, drowned in the River Nile during an imperial visit to Egypt in A.D. 130.

In accordance with Egyptian custom, the distraught emperor initiated a cult venerating the dead ANTINO, for the Egyptians believed that those who met such a death became assimilated to Osiris, god of the Underworld.

Outside Egypt, numerous statues of Antinoo were erected that represented him as a beautiful youth, often in the guise of Bacco, a Greek god closely related to Osiris.

This head is a good example of the sophisticated portrait type created by imperial sculptors to incorporate what must have been actual features of Antino in an idealized image that conveys a god-like beauty.

The ovoid face with a straight brow, almond-shaped eyes, smooth cheeks, and fleshy lips is surrounded by abundant tousled curls.

The ivy wreath encircling his head associates him with Bacco, a guarantor of renewal and good fortune.

References:

Münzen und Medaillen, Basel.
Auction Sale Catalogue, May 6, 1967, no. 207, ill.

Art of the Ancient World.
1992. Royal Athena Galleries, New York, no. 41a, ill.

Sotheby's New York,
Auction Sale Catalogue, December 14, 1994, Lot 132, ill.

Milleker, E. 1997.
"Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1996-1997." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 55(2): p. 15.