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Lot Essay
History seems to have a bitter-sweet love affair Caracalla, Roman Emperor from 198 to 217 AD. He is described in the Historia Augusta as having had an evil mode of life: 'He was hated by his household and detested in every camp save that of the Praetorian Guard' (C. Scarre,Chronicle of the Roman Emperors, London, 1998, pp. 138-146). Having infamously ordered the murder of his own brother Geta and bloody massacres of Roman citizens, he is also remembered for the architectural splendour of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, his military victories in Germany and against the Parthians, and his Antonine Constitution, which granted Roman citizenship to nearly all freemen throughout the Empire.
Caracalla has two distinct eras of portrait types, as a boy emperor 198-209 and as a sole emperor 212-217. This example, which represents him with square and heavy features and his trademark frowning brow, falls into the second category, and finds close parallels to antique versions in the Museo Nazionale, Naples and the British Museum, London.
Caracalla has two distinct eras of portrait types, as a boy emperor 198-209 and as a sole emperor 212-217. This example, which represents him with square and heavy features and his trademark frowning brow, falls into the second category, and finds close parallels to antique versions in the Museo Nazionale, Naples and the British Museum, London.