Portrait of Hadrian

Roman art

This bust was reported in 1828, displayed along with fifteen others on an equal number of shelves in the portico of the Palazzina Borghese. The literature describes it as almost entirely restored, either in the modern period or late Renaissance. The sculpture depicts Emperor Hadrian as a mature adult, wearing a scaled lorica and a type of mantle called a paludamentum over his left shoulder.

Even though displayed high up, one can clearly see the poor state of preservation of the surface, with heavy restoration work carried out on an ancient core.

Based solely on stylistic analysis, the sculpture seems to be datable to the middle of the second century CE, excepting the modern portions.

Object details

Commentary

This bust depicts Emperor Hadrian as a mature adult. His head is turned to the left and his curly hair is styled towards his forehead, where the comma-shaped locks form a crown. The figure’s elongated face has a rectangular forehead marked by a long horizontal line that meets two short vertical ones at the bridge of the nose. The eyebrows are slightly contracted, and the small, close-set eyes have barely incised eyelids. There are two faint lines on either side of the nostrils and the thin-lipped mouth is framed by a moustache that merges with the curls of the beard, defined by short, incised lines. Both ears, which are not covered by the hair, have the vertical crease on the lobe (Frank’s sign) that characterised Hadrian’s appearance, as known from his official portraiture. The bust is clothed in a short tunic that can be seen beneath the lorica, the scales of which are decorated with a line running down the centre of each. On the left shoulder, a circular fibula holds the softly draping mantle, called a paludamentum, while a lace ending in a bow hangs from the right shoulder plate.

The sculpture seems to be iconographically close to a similar one of the ‘Imperatori 32’ type in the Capitoline Museum (Wegner 1956, pp. 20–24, pl. 22b). It was cited for the first time in the Palazzina Borghese in 1828: ‘In the Portico of the above-said Casino […] No. 16 Busts on as many shelves’ (Archivio Apostolico Vaticano, Arch. Borghese 348, Galleria e Museo. Titoli diversi, fasc. 33, 1828, c. 6r). In the literature, it is typically described along with the other busts displayed in the portico, without a detailed description. In 1891, Bernoulli questioned its antiquity (p. 112, no. 38). In the guidebook published by Venturi in 1893, he reported fourteen busts on the shelves and provided a brief description, considering the cuirassed bust modern: ‘one of them is of Hadrian, with an added scaled lorica’ (p. 12). Wegner, agreeing with this assessment, suggested that it might date to the late Renaissance (1956, p. 113). Fittschen and Zancker later described it as ‘probably modern’ (1985, p. 51). Evers, who associated it with the ‘Rollockenfrisur’ type, located the Borghese portrait among the ‘Renaissance and modern copies’ (1994, p. 210).  Moreno agreed with this dating (2003, p. 67, no. 12).

The sculpture’s poor state of preservation, attributable to long exposure to the elements and various causes of deterioration, and its consequential restoration suggest that it is a heavily reworked ancient portrait. Considering the above, it is difficult to propose a date for the sculpture based on anything other than stylistic analysis, which points to the middle of the second century CE, with substantial modern restoration.

Giulia Ciccarello