Getty Museum

Portrait Bust of Livia

Date

A.D. 1–25

Medium

Marble

Culture

Roman

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

Preserved is a portrait bust of Livia (b. 58 B.C. d. A.D. 29), wife of Emperor Augustus, and mother - by her previous marriage - of Tiberius. Her oval face is smooth and full, with large eyes that have distinct upper and lower lids, a small mouth and a round chin. The back and the left side of the head are missing, and there is damage to her nose and mouth, as well as chips on the right side of her face. She wears her hair in the nodus style - a three-inch section on top of her head is drawn forward to form a knot (nodus) and then braided back. Over her temples are loose, double waves. The portrait was carved when Livia was around sixty, but presents her as youthful, and the impression is one of modesty and stability - key themes as Augustus asserted his power after years of political conflict and civil war.

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.