Livia
Catalogue Image
2014-00-00
Name/Title
LiviaEntry/Object ID
77R0621Description
Head of a woman to base of neck finished in black.Type of Sculpture
BustArtwork Details
Medium
PlasterSubject Person
LiviaContext
This bust depicts Livia, the third wife of Augustus (see also: Panel from the Ara Pacis Augustae; Coins of Augustus), with her hair in a nodus coiffure, the traditional hairstyle of the pious Roman matron. This particular type of portrait was typical for the empress throughout the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, Livia’s son. As wife to the emperor, Livia was represented as the archetypal Roman matron. In this depiction she wears no hair adornment nor articles of jewelry. This may well be significant, reflecting an initiative of Augustus (the Oppian Law) which aimed to curtail the extravagance of aristocratic women of Rome. Though Livia may have appeared the devoted and traditional wife and mother, she was nevertheless active and influential in the political life of the Empire, if perhaps more from behind-the-scenes. This piece was formerly identified as a bust of Octavia the Younger, sister of Augustus and fourth wife of Mark Antony (see: Coins of Marcus Antonius). Like Livia, Octavia too was portrayed with the proud matronly simplicity inherent in Augustan policy towards family life.Made/Created
Date made
25 BCE - 50 BCETime Period
Roman ImperialEthnography
Culture/Tribe
Roman