Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Head, Possibly of Empress Flaccilla

ca. 380–390
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
The hairstyle and facial features are those of Aelia Flaccilla, wife of Theodosius I. In about 382 she was the first woman officially to be crowned empress since Constantine the Great's mother and his wife far earlier in the century. Flaccilla was described at her death in 387 as "this ornament of the Empire, this zeal for the faith, this pillar of the church." During her husband's reign Christianity was established as the official religion of the state.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head, Possibly of Empress Flaccilla
  • Date: ca. 380–390
  • Culture: Byzantine
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: Overall: 10 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 6 11/16 in. (27.2 x 15.5 x 17 cm)
    with base: 11 1/4 in. (28.5 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Stone
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1947
  • Object Number: 47.100.51
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll, Pentelic Marble, Byzantine
Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll
Byzantine
late 4th–early 5th century
Marble female figure, Marble, Cycladic
Marble female figure
Cycladic
4500–4000 BCE
Bow Brooch, Silver with gold-sheet overlay and garnets, East Germanic
Bow Brooch
East Germanic
400–450
Fragment of a Floor Mosaic with a Personification of Ktisis, Marble and glass, Byzantine
Fragment of a Floor Mosaic with a Personification of Ktisis
Byzantine
500–550, with modern restoration
Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a fillet around his head), Polykleitos, Marble, Roman
Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a fillet around his head)
Copy of work attributed to Polykleitos
ca. 69–96 CE

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.