Grave stele depicting a horse being restrained by a young groom. Pentelic marble, found in Athens. Dated to either the Classical period, ca. the 4th cent. B.C.E., or to the 1st cent. BCE as a ‘Classicizing’ piece honoring someone important. The centrality of the horse (wearing a panther skin) suggests its rider was a ranked member of the military.

Citation: Photograph courtesy of George E. Koronaios, taken at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Accession #4464) on May 7th, 2018. CC BY-SA 4.0 International

Head of an individual. Marble. Roman, Syrian, ca. 100s CE (2nd c. CE).

Citation: Photo by Nathaniel Willson; courtesy of the Seattle Art Museum (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 67.127).

Roman portrait of a man. Traditionally identified as Memnon, an ‘Ethiopian’ philosopher, the pupil & adoptive son of the famed Second Sophistic movement rhetorician & philosopher Herodes Atticus. This marble bust (made ca. 160 CE -165 CE) was found in Atticus’s villa in Kynouria, Greece. Ancient Greeks & Romans used the term ‘Ethiopian’, to describe anyone of African heritage (i.e., anyone we might call a ‘black’ person). It should not be confused with the adjective we now use for anyone from the modern nation of Ethiopia.

Citation: Courtesy of the Altes Museum, Berlin; Roman Gallery (SK 1503). CC BY-SA 4.0

See also: Pearson, S. Aug. 3, 2020. “More than Marble – Diversity in the Altes Museum”. Museum and the City: Blog der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin.

Woman with coiffure style from the Trajanic period. Roman Greece, Reign of Trajan, ca. 98 CE -117 CE. Marble head broken from a larger piece. Agora Museum, Athens.

Citation: From The Image of the Black in Western Art Research Project and Photo Archive, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University.

Young man. Marble portrait bust (Bigio morato marble, limestone eyes). Provenance unknown. Roman Imperial Period, ca. 100 CE – 150 CE.

Citation: Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano (# 49596). Photo courtesy of Dan Diffendale; taken on Sept. 18, 2017 while on display at the Palazzo Massimo for a special exhibition. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Head of a young man. Gray marble. Roman, ca. 1st c. CE – 2nd c. CE.

Citation: The Art Institute of Chicago, anonymous loan (19.2012). Image Courtesy of Mark Landon/Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0 International Deed.

See also: https://www.artic.edu/interactive-features/head-of-a-young-man

Marble portrait of Juba II, king of Numidia/Mauretania (lived from 52 BCE – 23 CE). Roman, 1st c. CE. Found in Mauretania? Here he is wearing a fillet (headband).

Julius Caesar brought a young Juba II to Rome (from his native land, Numidia) & raised him. There, Juba II was granted Roman citizenship & became a highly-regarded Greek & Latin scholar. In 30 BCE, he was installed as Numidia’s client king, marrying Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra VII & Marcus Antonius.

Citation: Imagey courtesy of Marie-Lan Nguyen, taken on July 14th, 2017 at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. (Inv. 1591). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Sandstone head of a man, possibly broken from a larger statue. From Meroë (capital of Kush/Nubia), ca. 125 CE/early-2nd c. CE.

Citation: Image courtesy of Edelseider, taken on November 1st, 2013 at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. (Inv. 1336). CC-BY-SA-3.0.

Blue-black marble head of a young man (a piece broken off from a statue). Roman; Roman Imperial period, ca. 130 CE – 150 CE. Found in a Roman house in Miletus, Southwestern Anatolia (Asia Minor).

Citation: Image courtesy of Marcus Cyron, taken on June 4th, 2009 at the Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany, Antikensammlung Berlin. (Inv. 584?). CC BY-SA 3.0.

Hellenistic terracotta head of a man wearing a wreath. From Priene, in Asia Minor. Hellenistic period, before ca. 135 BCE (before mid-2nd c. BCE).

Citation: Image courtesy of Dan Diffendale, taken on November 24, 2019 at the Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany Berlin Antikensammlung (inv. TC 8638). CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Side of a marble naiskos (funerary marker). A (possibly) enslaved youth carries an oil flask. Attic/Athenian, Hellenistic period, ca. 325 BCE. Found in Athens.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613830954. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Fragment of the left end of a lenos (a tub-shaped sarcophagus). The god of wine Dionysus returns, triumphant, after defeating the Indians. A prisoner holding his head sits on a camel. The camel is led by a satyr (standing behind its head, with his hands on its neck and back). A bound African prisoner appears on the lower left. Roman, made in Rome ca. 300 CE. #933047001

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 933047001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Marble relief showing a man sailing a corbita (small coastal vessel with two brailed sails. Roman, ca. 200 CE. Made in Africa Proconsularis (roughly modern Tunisia, chunks of eastern Algeria, and western Libya). Found in Carthage, Tunisia, Africa.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 306677001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Marble group of a young acrobat on a crocodile (approximately two-and-a-half feet tall). Marble, Roman; from Rome, Italy, ca. 1st c. BCE- 1st c. CE. Possibly a member of the Tentyritae tribe, from an Island on the Nile (see Pliny the Elder, Natural History 8.38).

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1094316001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Bronze appliqué bust: Africa personified as a woman with curly African hair, in Greek dress. Her head is framed by an elephant’s head and her torso is flanked by an elephant tusk & a lion. Roman; Imperial period, 2nd c. CE-3rd c. CE. Find spot unknown.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 310630001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Marble portrait bust of a man, possibly of African origin. Roman, ca. 100 CE – 20 CE. Found in Porta Portese, Rome, Italy.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613734964. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Parian marble portrait head of an African woman. Roman, ca. 120 CE – 160 CE. Found in Utica, Tunisia, Africa.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613189205. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image: head of a youth (broken off from a larger statue), made of green siltstone. It combines Egyptian & Greek features: the unpolished hair, eyes, & use of green siltstone are ‘Egyptian’; his other facial features are ‘Greek’. Late Ptolemaic period/Graeco-Roman, ca. 100 BCE – 75 BCE. Made in Egypt; found in Alexandria, Egypt.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum, Asset nos. 179575001 (left, frontal image) & 144280001 (right, profile image). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Head from a bronze portrait (a North African, possibly Libyan man). Hellenistic period, ca. 300 BCE. Found at the Temple of Apollo in Cyrene.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 344057001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, a young man performing an acrobatic trick like that associated with members of the Tentyritae tribe (from an island on the Nile) who would dive into the water from the backs of crocodiles (Pliny the Elder, Natural History 8.38). This sculpture is designed to be a waterspout. Made of Pentelic marble. Roman, the First Imperial Period, ca. late 1st c. BCE-2nd c. CE. (Note: decorative fountain features included all sorts of people, gods, & animals).

Citation: Photos taken by Leah Himmelhoch on February 27th, 2026 at the Museo Nazionale Romano di Palazzo Massimo, Rome (Inv. #10940809).  CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Marble bust, made ca. 212 CE, of Elagabalus, Roman Emperor from 218 CE-222 CE. Born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus (ca. 204 CE), he was Caracalla’s first cousin & became Emperor after defeating Caracalla’s assassin Macrinus. From Syria, his family was of Syrian-Arab ancestry. He was also a priest of the sun god Elagabal (a status inherited from his mother), so assumed the cognomen Elagabalus after introducing Elagabal’s worship to Rome, where he placed Elagabal above Jupiter & served as Elagabal’s high priest. Though later Roman historians portrayed him as libidinous & ‘effeminate,’ accusations of debauchery regularly feature in Roman attacks on political rivals/enemies. It seems more likely that Elagabalus’ religious changes made him unpopular. In 222 CE, the Praetorian Guard killed him, making his cousin, Severus Alexander, emperor.

Citation: Image courtesy of Carole Raddato, taken at the Capitoline Museum, Rome on Aug. 15, 2015. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Bust of Emperor Macrinus (ruled 217 CE-218 CE). Greek marble; Roman, from the Roman Imperial period, ca. 217 CE-218 CE. Macrinus’ family was of Equestrian rank, from the Roman Province of Mauretania (modern Algeria). They were Berber (from local tribes, as indicated by his pierced left ear & earring). Though Macrinus served as Emperor Caracalla’s praetorian prefect, he turned against Caracalla & killed him (possibly to save his own life). Macrinus then declared himself Emperor and his 10-year-old son Diadumenian co-Emperor. Just over a year later, however, both were killed by the troops of Elagabalus, Caracalla’s cousin & successor.

Citation: Photo courtesy of Leah Himmelhoch, taken on February 16, 2026 at the Capitoline Museum (Inv. No. 5460) .  CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Marble bust of Diadumenian, son of Emperor Macrinus; the bust likely dates to 218 CE (or sometime in the 3rd c. CE). Macrinus was from the Roman Province of Mauretania (modern Algeria); his family was Berber (from local tribes), making Diadumenian of Berber descent. Macrinus, who served as Emperor Caracalla’s praetorian prefect, declared himself Emperor after assassinating Caracalla in 217 CE (possibly to save his own life). He named his 10-year-old son Diadumenian co-Emperor in 218 CE. In 218 BCE, both Macrinus & Diadumenian were killed by troops loyal to Elagabalus (Caracalla’s cousin & successor).

Citation: Photos taken by Leah Himmelhoch, February 10th, 2026, the Uffizi Galleries, Florence.  CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Bust of Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (Alexander Severus), Roman Emperor from 222 CE – 235 CE. Made of marble from Asia minor in the 230s CE. Born in 208 CE in Arca Caesarea, Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), Alexander was of Syrian descent. He became Emperor at 13 after Elagabalus’ assassination (as Elagabalus’ cousin & adopted son/heir). Though considered a decent ruler, in 235 CE he was assassinated by Roman troops (for unclear reasons) while negotiating with German tribes. He was the Severan dynasty’s last ruler. (Note this bust’s late imperial toga contabulata: the cloth winds crosswise across his chest & is not allowed to fall downwards).

Citation: Photos taken by Leah Himmelhoch, February 10th, 2026, the Uffizi Galleries, Florence.  CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Marble portrait bust of Roman Emperor Philip (the Arab). Roman imperial period, mid-3rd c. CE. Find-spot not listed. (Note this bust’s late imperial toga contabulata: the cloth winds crosswise across his chest & is not allowed to fall downwards).

Marcus Julius Philipus (Emperor ‘Philip the Arab’) lived from ca. 204 CE – 249 CE. Born in Shahba, Syria (in the Roman province Arabia Petraea), he was of Arab descent. He became Roman Emperor after the death of Gordian III, ruling from 244 CE – 249 CE. Though his rule seems to have been stable and beneficial, he was killed by the usurper Trajan Decius during or after the Battle of Verona (249 BCE). (Notably: Philip was Emperor when Rome celebrated its first millenium).

Citation: Photo by Sergey Sosnovskiy, taken in 2018 at the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. (Inv. nos. GR-1709 / A. 31). CC-BY-SA 4.0.

Marble portrait bust of Roman Emperor Philip (‘the Arab’). Roman Imperial period, ca. mid 3rd c. CE. Find-spot not listed.

Marcus Julius Philipus (Emperor ‘Philip the Arab’) lived from ca. 204 CE – 249 CE. Born in Shahba, Syria (in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea), he was of Arab descent. He became Roman Emperor after the death of Gordian III, ruling from 244 CE – 249 CE. Though his rule seems to have been stable and beneficial, he was killed by the usurper Trajan Decius during or after the Battle of Verona (249 BCE). (Notably: Philip was Emperor when Rome celebrated its first millenium).

Citation: Image taken by Wolfgang Sauber on July 26,th 2008 at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. CC BY-SA-3.0.

Roman statue of an enslaved bath attendant. Found in Aphrodisias (a city in Caria, Asia Minor) in the Hadrianic Baths. Made of bigio morato marble. Roman, possibly late 100s-early 200s CE (late 2nd-early 3rd c. CE)?

Citation: From the collection of the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Inv. #Ma4926). Image courtesy of Dan Diffendale (taken on Aug. 5 2017 at a special exhibit in Rome’s Ara Pacis Museum: “Spartacus, Slaves, and Masters in Rome” (running from March 31 to September 17, 2017)). (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Marble statue of a fisherman. Roman, marble. Found at Posillipo in Campania, Italy. Made ca. 130 CE-160 CE.

Citation: From the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (120568). Image courtesy of Dan Diffendale (taken on August 5th, 2017 at a special exhibit in Rome’s Ara Pacis Museum: “Spartacus, Slaves, and Masters in Rome” (running from March 31 to September 17, 2017)). (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Bust of a Man (North African). Marble, Roman, c.a 150 CE – 200 CE (the detail & style of his hair and facial features suggest it was made in the late Antonine period).

Citation: Image Courtesy of Mary Harrsch, taken on June 13, 2008 at the Getty Villa, Gallery 201B, Upper Peristyle (71.AA.437). CC BY 2.0

Punic (Phoenician) terracotta protome (architectural sculpture): the head of a man. From Nuraghe S’Urachi (San Vero Milis), on Sardinia. Hellenistic period, ca. 4th-3rd c. BCE (300s BCE-200s BCE)?

Citation: Image courtesy of Dan Diffendale, taken July 30, 2014 at the Museo Nazionale di Cagliari, Sardinia (inv. 203356). CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The word ‘nuraghe’ is a Sardinian term & describes an ancient, megalithic structure (looking like a truncated tower) unique to Sardinia. Thousands of nuraghes dot the island. The site of Nuraghe S’Urachi has been occupied since the bronze age. Phoenicians first came to Sardinia ca. 1000 BCE, to trade & settle, becoming part of the local population.

The ‘Borghese Moor,’ a composite sculpture: The head & shoulders (Nero Antico marble), and the lower half of the torso/tunic beneath the belt (alabaster) are fragments (found in Rome) from an Imperial Roman statue (100s CE/2nd c. CE?). The rest is baroque (made by Nicolas Cordier between 1607-1612 CE).

Citation: Image courtesy of the Musée du Louvre, Paris; Département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques, et romaines (inv. MR 303; MV 8411; Ma 6209). © 2018 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Hervé Lewandowski. https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010281955

Image above, citation: taken by Dan Diffendale, Feb. 26th, 2023 @ the exhibit “Recycling Beauty” (Nov. 17, 2022-Feb. 27, 2023), Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Horos son of Thotoes (Hor-sa-tutu: Hor, son of Tutu). Greco-Roman Egypt. Late Ptolemaic period (after 200 BCE). Made of black granite in Sais, Egypt; found in Alexandria, Egypt. This statue’s inscription states that Horos commanded the troops of Lower Egypt & was a priest of the goddess Neith in Sais.

Citation: Image courtesy of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägytisches Museum & Papyrussammlung/Jürgen Liepe (AM 2271). CC-BY-SA 4.0.

A Herm (boundary marker). Black Limestone. Made & found in Roman Carthage, ca. 150 CE-200 CE.

Citation: Photo courtesy of Dennis Jarvis, taken on May 19th, 2012 at The Bardo Museum, Tunisia. (Accession number, unknown). CC BY-SA 2.0

A Herm is a boundary or milestone marker. The term probably came from the Greek word herma (stone), since stones would mark boundary lines. In ancient Greece, Herms were often (but not always) topped by the head of Hermes, the Greek god of boundaries & transitions. They could be used as cult objects (but not always). Romans took up this Greek practice. In time, the carvings on Herms became more varied.

A Herm (boundary marker). Black limestone. Made and found in Roman Carthage, ca. 1st c. CE – 2nd c. CE.

Citation: Image taken by Katarnada on January 1st, 2011, at the Bardo Museum, Tunisia. (Accession number, unknown). CC BY-SA 3.0.

A Herm is a boundary or milestone marker. The term probably came from the Greek word herma (stone), since stones would mark boundary lines. In ancient Greece, Herms were often (but not always) topped by the head of Hermes, the Greek god of boundaries & transitions. They could be used as cult objects (but not always). Romans took up this Greek practice. In time, the carvings on Herms became more varied.

Antefix (an architectural decoration) of a man’s head from the pediment of Etruscan Temple B at Pyrgi, in Latium, central Italy; Archaic period, ca 510 BCE. Pyrgi was an important Etruscan port city.

Citation: Photo courtesy of Sailko, taken on September 26th 2017 at the Villa Giulia, Rome. CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Antefix (an architectural decoration) of a man’s head from the pediment of Etruscan Temple B at Cerveteri, an Etruscan city northwest of Rome in central Italy. From the Archaic period, ca 510 BCE.

Citation: Photo courtesy of Sailko, taken on September 26th 2017 at the Villa Giulia, Rome. CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Male head from a life-size sculpture of an offering bearer. Made of limestone, with traces of paint on his lips & beard. From Cyprus (Kition); Archaic period, 6th c. BCE. His hair-style & curly beard are typical of Persian models.

Citation: Photos taken by Leah Himmelhoch, February 19th, 2026, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid.  CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Composite image of an acrobat and a man being attacked by a lion (?) from ‘Osuna Group B.’ Limestone, from the Iberian town of Urso (now Osuna, near Seville, Spain); late- 2nd c. BCE-to-early 1st c. BCE. These fragments are from a heavily damaged scenario apparently portraying local Iberian warriors and Roman soldiers approaching each other for combat. The acrobat & the man being mauled by a lion were somehow part of this scene.

Citation: Photos taken by Leah Himmelhoch, February 19th, 2026, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid.  CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Marble portrait bust of an Egyptian priest (as evidenced by his shaved head). Found in Egypt; either Ptolemaic or Roman, from the Republican period, ca. 50 BCE – 25 BCE. It was probably damaged in the 4th or 5th century CE by early Christians attempting to suppress ‘pagan’ religion.

Citation: Image courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia; Gift of Mark Huffman and Sue McGovern-Huffman (Obj. no. 2018.501). CC BY-NC.

A black marble child with a dove. From the Roman Imperial period, early 2nd c. CE (the reign of Hadrian 117 CE – 138 CE). Found in Roman Hadrumetum (on the coast of modern Tunisia). Originally a Phoenician settlement, Hadrumetum supported Rome during the third Punic war (149-146 BCE) so was granted extra territory and full freedom after Rome defeated Carthage. Hadrumetum became one of the most prominent cities in Roman North Africa.

Citation: Image courtesy of Veridy Cridland, taken on March 20th, 2014 at the Sousse Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. (Accession no. unknown). CC BY 2.0.