Ancient Roman Statuary at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: AUGUSTO -- ritratto (Rogers Fund, 1923)

Speranza

Ivory portrait head of the emperor Augustus
Period: Early Imperial, Augustan
Date: ca. 27 B.C.–A.D. 14
Culture: Roman
Medium: Ivory
Dimensions: H. 4 cm
Classification: Miscellaneous-Bone, Ivory
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1923
Accession Number: 1923.160.78
This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 166

In addition to life-sized statues in bronze and marble, small-scale portraits of Augustus were disseminated on coins, gems, glass medallions, and statuettes in various media.

This head belongs to one such statuette, carved during the emperor’s lifetime.

Another precious, small-scale portrait head, which is made of faience, is displayed in the Museum's Egyptian galleries.
References

Richter, Gisela M.A. 1926. "New Accessions in the Classical Department." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 21(3): p. 83, fig. 7.

Richter, Gisela M.A. 1930.
Handbook of the Classical Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 314-15, fig. 222.

Richter, Gisela M.A. 1938.
"The Exhibition of Augustan Art."
Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 33(12): p. 275, fig. 3.

Milleker, Elizabeth J., ed. 2000.
The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 35, pp. 54, 206.