Bust of Apollo

Male head identified as Apollo of the Kassel type. He has a long ovoid face, a heavy jaw and neck, long narrow eyes and his lips are thick. His hair is in spiral curls which start from the centre part and frame his face in the front while two long braids hang at the back. Two ringlets fall onto the neck behind each ear but they are shorter compared to other examples of the same type of Apollo. This was considered by Furtwangler to be because the sculptor miscalculated the amount of marble required.Bartman observed that the ringlets were partly restored and the rough surface on the neck suggests that the original locks did hang down and they were originally longer. The Apollo of Kassel is believed to have come from a Domitianic villa near Monte Circeo in Latium and Bartman believes that many of the similar heads are also a product of a Roman workshop. Bartman also believes that the head is dated to an Augustan rather than a Hadrianic date and that it is early classical in style, with its soft features and modest drillwork embodying the Augustan ideology of resraint and moral purity. The head is mounted on a modern bust and has been fitted incorrectly with a pronounced downward tilt. The hair has a granular surface that suggests that it was chemically treated.