Highlights of the collection
1st century AD
30 x 20 x 24.5 cm
Carved white marble
MNAT 12260
A portrait from the schola of the Tarraco collegium fabrum, the seat of the corporation of building workers.
The hairstyle and characteristic features make it easy to recognise this as a portrait of Claudius. Despite this, the Tarragona depiction is somewhat idealised when compared to the majority of portraits of him, in which the features are more personal and more in keeping with his real age. This leads us to believe that it was carved shortly after his ascent to the throne in 41 AD.
