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Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)

ca. 337–40
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
This classically styled, crowned head is probably that of Constans, the youngest of the four sons of Constantine the Great. Constans, a devout Christian, who initially ruled part of the western half of the Empire, gained all the west in 340. He defeated the Franks and was the last emperor to visit Britain. Constans was killed before he was thirty by the usurper Magnentius in 350.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)
  • Date: ca. 337–40
  • Culture: Byzantine
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: Overall: 10 5/8 x 6 7/8 x 7 3/8 in. (27 x 17.5 x 18.8 cm)
    with base: 15 x 6 x 6 in. (38.1 x 15.2 x 15.2 cm)
    Base: 4 3/4 x 6 x 6 in. (12.1 x 15.2 x 15.2 cm)
    Diameter of Neck: 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Vessels
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1967
  • Object Number: 67.107
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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