This marble copy of a portrait dates to between 40-30 BCE and is believed to depict the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII. The bust is in fairly good condition although the nose has broken off. A broken off piece of marble on the statue's forehead has puzzled historians. It has been hypothesized that it was once a part of her diadem, perhaps a rearing cobra. However, the lump of marble does not appear to have been a part of the diadem and it has recently been suggested that the full statue originally portrayed Cleopatra with her young son Caesarion, and that the piece was part of the infant's hand. The bust is a part of the Vatican's collection of Antiquities in the Gregorian Profane Museum.
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Portrait of Cleopatra VII
Family Tree of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt (305-30 BCE)
Relief of Cleopatra VII and Caesarion at the Dendera Temple
Cleopatra VII (Artistic Facial Reconstruction)
Cleopatra VII, Philopator
Map of Ptolemaic Egypt c. 240 BCE
Cite This Work
APA Style
Sosnovskiy, S. (2018, March 14). Roman Portrait of Cleopatra. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8291/roman-portrait-of-cleopatra/
Chicago Style
Sosnovskiy, Sergey. "Roman Portrait of Cleopatra." World History Encyclopedia, March 14, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8291/roman-portrait-of-cleopatra/.
MLA Style
Sosnovskiy, Sergey. "Roman Portrait of Cleopatra." World History Encyclopedia, 14 Mar 2018, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8291/roman-portrait-of-cleopatra/.
