The Meroë Head of Augustus

Made from Bronze with eyes inlaid with glass pupils set in metal rings; the 'Meroe Head' is a magnificent portrait of Julius Caesar's great nephew and adopted heir Augustus (63 BC–AD 14). Once forming part of a statue of Rome's revered first true emperor; the head was violently separated from the body and carried away in triumph by ancient Meroitic tribesman shortly after its creation. For nearly two millennia it remained buried in front of a temple in their capital city of Meroe (modern Su...