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 Portrait of a Young Boy This well preserved head is of a young man of high rank, who was dedicated to a cult, marked by the longer lock of hair in the back, possibly the cult of Isis. In many regards this portrait is remarkably well preserved, in that it is quite complete and unbroken. However it was acid cleaned resulting in a shiny overly white surface that has stripped away any tract of its archeological origins. In addition the bust was trimmed down, but preserves most of the drapery. Even so, it is securely datable to the Roman period by its style, and the distinctive lock of longer hair. It is an unknown subject and most copyists from the later periods copied portraits attributed to famous individuals, and never would have copied the longer lock of hair. Roman portraits of children are remarkably unsentimental, this young man is depicted in full charge of his faculties, in no way diminished by his youth. In fact his self possession is somewhat intimidating, and yet there is also a sympathy for the subject which comes through, and keeps the portrait from being cold. Despite the over cleaning of the bust this head is a superb and well preserved example of Roman portraiture, it is complete, has its nose, ears, etc, and beautiful.  View of back showing the longer lock of hair.
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