Explore the Description of this artwork, Carmagnola (Venice).
The Diadem unambiguously identifies the head as that of a late Roman emperor, and on stylistic grounds it has been dated between the 4th and 6th centuries, with several scholars identifying it as a depiction of Justinian. The flattened nose is ostensibly the result of damage and subsequent repolishing. It is "one of the most significant" of the ornamental trophies that adorn the Basilica's facade, looking straight into the direction of Constantinople.A headless porphyry statue kept at the Archiepiscopal Museum in Ravenna has been hypothesized to belong to the same original.
Roman emperor late Roman Diadem Justinian emperor Constantinople Ravenna porphyry Archiepiscopal Museum