Portrait Head, Perhaps of Otacilia Severa

Description This may be a portrait of Otacilia Severa, wife of Emperor Philip the Arab (reigned AD 244-249), or of a private citizen influenced by Otacilia's public images. Her tranquil, idealized appearance is typical of mid 3rd-century statuary, and, although she is depicted as a mature matron, her forehead and cheeks are smooth, without the deep lines of concern that characterize male portraits of the period.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
6/21/1961	Treatment	cleaned
12/31/1969	Treatment	cleaned
7/20/1970	Treatment	cleaned
2/04/1999	Treatment	cleaned
5/03/2001	Treatment	repaired

Provenance Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902