Getty Museum

Portrait Bust of Geta

Date

early 3rd century A.D.

Medium

Thasian? marble, white

Culture

Roman

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

A life-size portrait bust of Geta. The portrait is youthful with a long slender neck rising out of the folds of a toga. The bust is carved to include only the area around the sternum; the shoulders are not rendered. The head is turned to the right and lifted slightly. The eyes also look upward and to the right; the irises are incised. The eyelids are thin and linear underneath a fairly heavy brow. The nose is mostly missing. The lips are parted to show teeth which have been individually rendered. The mouth forms a slightly crooked half-smile. The hair is high on the forehead and rendered as mostly straight, short locks, thicker at the top of the head and thinning toward the back. The ears are long and deeply drilled. Damage consists mostly of pocks, nicks and scratches, some damage to the ears and the right side of the chin. The marble has a yellow-brown patina.

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