Roman Art ARTE ROMANA
Supposed portrait of Plautilla
Uffizi Gallery, Inv. 1914, no.217
II Century A.D. ?
Luna marble
Height: 61 cm (ancient part 27 cm)
The portrait, traditionally identified as Plautilla, Caracalla’s wife, offers an intense representation of female portraiture of the Imperial period. The modern tunic-clad bust rests on a mixed marble corbel with the Roman inscription Plavtilla.
The reading of the artwork is compromised by the inhomogeneity of the modern integrations made with differing materials, which calls for an extensive color touching-up, and by the thick layers of accumulated dust as well as the deterioration of the old fillings of previous restoration interventions.
The work has been repeatedly reworked, as evidenced by the numerous metal chips found on the surface.
The restoration will include photographic documentation and petrographic analyses to investigate possible traces of ancient polychromies on the marble surface.
