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This marble copy of a portrait dates to between 40-30 BCE and is believed to depict the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII. The bust is in fairly good condition although the nose has broken off.
A broken off piece of marble on the statue's forehead has puzzled historians. It has been hypothesized that it was once a part of her diadem, perhaps a rearing cobra. However, the lump of marble does not appear to have been a part of the diadem and it has recently been suggested that the full statue originally portrayed Cleopatra with her young son Caesarion, and that the piece was part of the infant's hand.
The bust is a part of the Vatican's collection of Antiquities in the Gregorian Profane Museum.
Related Images
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Ptolemaic Egypt c. 240 BCE
Cite This Work
APA Style
Sosnovskiy, S. (2018, March 14). Roman Portrait of Cleopatra. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8291/roman-portrait-of-cleopatra/
Chicago Style
Sosnovskiy, Sergey. "Roman Portrait of Cleopatra." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 14, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8291/roman-portrait-of-cleopatra/.
MLA Style
Sosnovskiy, Sergey. "Roman Portrait of Cleopatra." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 14 Mar 2018. Web. 11 Dec 2024.
