Macrinus

Boleč, accidental find.
Hollow casting, incising, chiselling.
Bronze.
Height 33 cm, face width 22 cm
AD 217
IB AA /2636

This extraordinary sculpture was identified as a portrait of the Roman emperor Macrinus (Emperor Caesar Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus), who rose to throne in AD 217 by murdering his predecessor Caracalla, with the support of the Senate and army. He ruled only for 14 months, when he was also murdered, not succeeding to enter the Italian territory as an emperor. Identification of the realistically made bust was done according to the Macrinus’s coin image. It was supposedly made in the workshops in Antioch, where his money had been minted. This find is greatly significant, being the only discovered bust of Emperor Macrinus.