Palatine Nero

Palatine Nero

1st century AD

Unknown

Marble

Around 31cm tall

Palatine Hill. Antiquarium of the Palatine, Rome, Italy

Museo nazionale delle Terme, Rome

Description

The Palantine Nero is a head of the Emperor Nero. It is broken at the base of the neck. He has deep seated eyes, with what seems to be bags underneath. You can also notice his eyelids. His eyebrows are somewhat elevated and there is a slight furrow to his eyebrows, which can be observed by the sides of the ridge of his nose. He has a full head of hair that comes down to about midway on the back of his neck. The hair is in the shape of a comma that comes down to the brow. Its also brushed upward into a crown and connected to the neck beard. Other than the neck beard, no other facial hair is present. His ears poke out of his hair and are visible to the viewer. There is no prominent bone structure that can be noticed through his face. His lips indicate somewhat of a smile. He also has cheeks that somewhat sag. The curve of his lips, combined with the full cheeks are depicted through the creases on either side of his lips. There is also damage to the nose, it is practically all gone. All that is left is the top of the ridge of his nose. One can also say that there is a slight tilt to his head.

Significance

The portrait being broken at the base of the neck indicates that the Palatine Nero was part of a larger, most likely, full body sculpture of the emperor. This sculpture was somewhat veristic, you can see this in his fleshy face. However, he was still idealized because of how youthful and smooth his face is. Nero was a harsh and infamous ruler. His eyes are deep as to show seriousness and maybe intimidation. The slight furrow of the brow also show the seriousness in the bust. The bags under his eyes also show the stress he’s undergone as a ruler. Even though he was not a well-liked ruler he was a ruler nonetheless, and the job entails a lot of responsibility that can weigh down on a person. Despite the bags under his eyes, Nero’s hair shows his youth. He has a full head of hair, with strong waves, this shows how he has yet to really age and is in somewhat good health. The hair is also distinctive of the Julio-Claudian family. The neck beard connected to the hair is also worth mentioning. The neck beard is not full and indicative of Nero's decadent lifestyle. The lack of visible bone structure in his face also show that Nero wasn’t necessarily the most fit of people. Finally, we have the broken nose. The bust was most likely damaged because all of Nero’s sculptures were destroyed after his rule and a damnatio memoriae was issued.

Soe Naing