This bust of Faustina clearly seems to have been broken off of a larger sculpture. It depicts a young woman with plaited hair wearing a hood. Part of her nose has been chipped off.
A Museum placard reads:
"Marble portrait of the empress Faustina, the Younger,
wife of the Emperor Aurelius
Roman Antonine period, A.D. 161 - 180
Gift of Shelby and Leon Levy, 1986 (1986.40)
The well-formed but rather puffy features, the prominent eyes, and the deeply waved hair exemplify mid-Antonine standards of beauty and are identifying traits of the empress."
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Annia Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor is Latin for the Younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (16 February between 125 and 130 – 175) was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Though Roman sources give a generally negative view of her character, she was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death...
Reign as Empress
When Antoninus died on 7 March 161, Marcus and Lucius Verus ascended to the throne and became co-rulers. Faustina was given the title of Augusta and became Empress.
Unfortunately, not much has survived from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but what is available does not give a good report. Cassius Dio and the Augustan History accuse Faustina of ordering deaths by poison and execution; she has also been accused of instigating the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband. The Augustan History mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, and men of rank; however, Faustina and Aurelius seem to have been very close and mutually devoted.
Faustina accompanied her husband on various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title of Mater Castrorum or Mother of the Camp. She attempted to make her home out of an army camp. Between 170–175, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east."