Poulsen, Frederik: Greek and Roman portraits in English country houses (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923)

8o

A BEARDLESS MAN

Antonine age.1 What also reminds of earlier times and seems to
be non-Hadrianic, is the quite short hair. This must be regarded as
an individual peculiarity and does not lack parallels, e.g. it occurs
again in two Athenian heads of ‘ Kosmetai of which one belongs
to the age of Trajan, the other is of a.d. 145-6, and so is post-
Hadrianic.2 A head in Grand-Saconnex,3 which is dated in Flavian
times but might well be later, has similar short hair.
Like the bust at Margam (no. 48) this Hoikham bust ranks among
the finest work of Roman portraiture, and Michaelis, who makes no
attempt to date it, expresses lively admiration for it. The modern
name ‘ Sulla ’ is in so far intelligible, that it is a definitely aristocratic
type, cold and selfish, intelligent and severe, and thus a spiritual
relative of the great dictator, later than his time by about 200 years.
(Michaelis, p. 311, no. 29 ; Bernoulli, Rom. Ikon, i, p. 91 f„, fig. 13.)
1 Hekler, ib., pl. 229. p. 391 ; Arndt-Bruckmann, 381 and 384.
2 Graindor, Bull, de con. hell., 1915, 3 Arndt-Amelung, 1922-3.
p. 300, and pl. XVI; p. 324, fig. 15 ;