The portrait displays the typical features of members of the Emperor Augustus, with the distinctive hairstyle borrowed from the Hellenistic fashion exemplified by the anastole of Alexander the Great. The...
The portrait displays the typical features of members of the Emperor Augustus, with the distinctive hairstyle borrowed from the Hellenistic fashion exemplified by the anastole of Alexander the Great. The facial features resemble the Prima Porta type of portraiture of the emperor. The Prima Porta type was probably created before 20 BC and used during the reign of Augustus but also posthumously. This artefact could have been thus produced either during the lifetime of Augustus, or following his death in connection to his worship as a god. The smooth face, simplistic features, and youthful look give the emperor an essence of eternal youth. These facial features are reminiscent of the Doryphoros statue by Polykleitos. Also reminiscent of the Doryphoros is the cap-like hairstyle. Comma-shaped locks have become the symbol of the emperor and were so quintessentially intertwined with his image. that they started to be associated also with other members of his family, and even almost one century after the death of Augustus the emperor Trajan will incorporate the comma-like hair to indicate a closer relation to first emperor.