idesofmarch01 Posted August 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted August 19, 2022 1 hour ago, DonnaML said: Speaking of weird portraits, does this Hadrian portrait on a sestertius in an upcoming auction (see https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=5951&lot=91 ) just have an oddly shaped head, and an oddly shaped beard (if there's one at all), or do people think it's been tooled? I think the odd-looking portrait is a result of Hadrian's beard having been mostly worn off to the point that you can't tell the difference between "worn beard" and "cheek skin." His apparently jowly chin would normally be textured beard too, but it has been worn smooth and the subsequent smoothing makes it appear to be skin rather than beard. This is a case where less obverse smoothing might have resulted in a more natural-looking portrait. In my example it's clear on the obverse where the beard ends and cheek/neck begins: The reverse is indeed extremely well defined but I don't see any really sharp lines and delineations that would make me think "obvious tooling." A more expert examination and opinion would be the next step. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted August 19, 2022 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted August 19, 2022 1 minute ago, idesofmarch01 said: I think the odd-looking portrait is a result of Hadrian's beard having been mostly worn off to the point that you can't tell the difference between "worn beard" and "cheek skin." His apparently jowly chin would normally be textured beard too, but it has been worn smooth and the subsequent smoothing makes it appear to be skin rather than beard. This is a case where less obverse smoothing might have resulted in a more natural-looking p of his head! It's shape. In my example it's clear on the obverse where the beard ends and cheek/neck begins: The reverse is indeed extremely well defined but I don't see any really sharp lines and delineations that would make me think "obvious tooling." A more expert examination and opinion would be the next step. But look at the top of his head! It's shaped very differently from yours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idesofmarch01 Posted August 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted August 19, 2022 18 minutes ago, DonnaML said: But look at the top of his head! It's shaped very differently from yours. I think that might be more due to the fact that the obverse is slightly rotated clockwise; here's a side-by-side comparison with the "weird" portrait rotated into a more normal orientation: Other than the right image's laurel wreath jutting above Hadrian's hairline, they look relatively similar to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniard Posted August 19, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) Must admit it does look a little bit strange?... Bareheaded apposed to laureate, the hair style is completely different for example the nape of the neck to behind the ear much shorter? Edited August 19, 2022 by Spaniard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etcherdude Posted August 19, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) Compare the crispness of many curves of the hair, ear and in some drapery folds with the softer contours of the face and letters of the legend. Edited August 19, 2022 by Etcherdude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted August 20, 2022 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted August 20, 2022 This one is pretty well-known (not mine); it's a Carausius imitation in a Berlin museum, found in Great Britain before 1842: https://ikmk.smb.museum/object?lang=de&id=18239876 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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