n a herm whose inscription can be translated as, ôTo the genius of our Lucius from the freedman Felix.ö Note the protruding ears, the forced smile, and the wart on the cheek; this is surely an accurate portrait of a Pompeian businessman, as they say, warts and all.
Similarly realistic sculpture is shown in Figure 3 (Plates 146-148 in Kraus). Plate 146 shows the official portrait statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus the Elder. This marble statue, 6Æ9.5ö high, probably found in the Theater in Herculaneum, is in the National Museum in Naples. Its inscription shows that it was erected by order of the decurions of Herculaneum in order to honor M.N.B. the Younger, who was praetor, proconsul, and one of the townÆs most distinguished citizens. The way that the toga is being worn places the statue in the reign of Claudius. It is very much a lifeless, official sort of statue, rather like a classical equivalent of a government ID photo.
Plate 147 is another portrait of Claudius, as hero. This bronze statue, 7Æ10.5ö high, is also in the National Museum in Naples. It was a companion piece to a statue of Augustus of exactly the same height, found in the Basilica. It can be dated to A.D. 48 or 49 because the inscription gives the full title that Claudius was using in those years. It is a very pedestrian work, very much a piece of official flattery.
Plate 148 is probably intended to portray a daughter of Marcus Nonius Balbus, since statues of the family were ordered to be erected in both the Theater and the Basilica. It is marble, 5Æ7.375ö high, and is in the National Museum in Naples. Only part of the right hand needed restoring, and it still bore traces of red paint. Based on a classical type from the circle of Praxiteles, it can be dated to about the year A.D. 40 by the hairstyle. Of these three statues, at least, it is artistically the most interesting.
Aside from this openness to realism about individualÆs faces, Roma...