This masterful portrait bust represents a vigorous middle-aged man who turns his head slightly to his right and stares into the distance with a critical, penetrating gaze. The broad, square face is carefully modeled; wide furrows cut into the low forehead and at the corners of the eyes add to the intensity of the expression. One assumes that the sitter was a contemporary man in the guise of a thinker, rather than this being a portrait of a practicing philosopher.

The style of the sculpture is firmly rooted in the Hadrian (r. 117–38 A.D.) (08.170.118; 08.170.120; 99.35.177), but the elegant, restrained calm associated with the best Hadrianic production has been replaced by expressive, forceful agitation, a trait first encountered in the Antonine period (138–93 A.D.) (33.11.3). The work is a splendid example of psychological portraiture and exudes a sense of abrupt nervousness that finds close parallels in other Antonine characterizations.

The back of the bust was not hollowed out to provide for a supporting pillar and base. Moreover, the lower edge of the bust approximates the segment of a circle close to two feet in diameter. One may thus conclude that the bust was an imago clipeata (circular portrait bust), originally framed within a circular molding and intended to be viewed from below.

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