Ritratti di Leptis Magna fra III e IV secolo
In: Archeologia Classica: 56, 2006
Permalink: http://digital.casalini.it/2634205
The article deals with portraits from Leptis Magna dating from late -or post- Gallienic age to the second Tetrarchy. They constitute the latest substantial group of local portraits and still display a wide range of self-representation and stylistic models, related both to Rome and to the East or Egypt. Although the most have been reworked, technical devices reveal several workshops. One of them follows a conservative fashion, somewhat reminiscent of the Antonine-Severan tradition in soft, if simplified moulding and smoothness of facial surfaces, while hair and beards are coarsely rendered as ornamental patterns. Quality varies, and the standard is much more provincial than in the early and middle imperial periods; but despite a certain lack of precision, some of these portraits have a striking expression, well in keeping with the trends of the time.