Portrait of Septimius Severus

Under life-size portrait of Septimius Severus. The head is slightly bigger than half life-size and is turned to the right. It is a ‘Serapis type’ portrait of the emperor. The drill has been used in a coarse manner to render the hair in a few wide channels, for example the hair at the back is barely incised, but in the profile the hair at the sides of the face and beard seem more deeply incised. It has been suggested that this is a ‘kleinformatige’ (miniature scale) portrait that might have been displayed in a semi-public context. The nose is missing and the surface is badly weathered.