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Roman, Caracalla * Mature
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Of all the Caracalla portraits, I’m most drawn to & fond of those which show him in his greatest maturity. This one, dated to 217 AD, the year of his death is about as ‘mature’ as one can get for the man.
This portrait strikes me as exceptionally handsome, which I well-imagine he was in reality, despite his ‘official portraiture’ which often suggests otherwise.
Too, I think some of his portraits, such as this one, suggest strongly a certain vanity in his masculine appearance – that he was well groomed and took considerable pride in his over-all appearance, quite despite his soldierly life-style.
Such vanity and the purposefulness of his official portraiture not withstanding, here I believe one beholds ‘Caracalla’ the man more as he was – an alpha male par excellence, and a devilishly handsome one.
Portrait from AR Denarius * Caracalla * Serapis
Mint: Rome
Struck: 217 AD.
Size: 19 mm.
RIC 291b
* Reverse of * RIC 289, pg. 255
Submitted by Tiathena
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