"A PRE-PRINCIPATE PORTRAIT OF GAIUS (CALIGULA)?" By John Pollini  The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery Volume 40 (1982) -  Used with the kind permission of Prof. Pollini  

A previously unpublished, under life-size head in The Walters Art Gallery is discussed here as a possible early portrait of Gaius (Caligula), created before he became Princeps (or  "First Citizen") of the Roman state in 37 A.D. at the age of twenty-four.  Comparisions are offered with other possible and established portraits of Gaius,  and a stylistic analysis is presented.   

        Among the works Henry Walters aquired in 1902 with his purchase of the Massarenti collection is a Roman portrait head of  approximately one-half life-size (Figs. Top photo and 2-5).1   It has never been previously published or, to my knowledge, even noted in the scholarly literature.  Though not of high artistic quality, this sculpture is of particular interest because, as we shall see, it may be a rare portrait of Gaius (Caligula) before he came to power at the age of twenty-four, in 37 A.D.2   The Walters head, the original provenance of which is unknown, is of fine to medium crystalline white marble.  The sculpture is finished except behind the ears and at the back of the head:  the area behind the ear has not been carved out fully, while the individual hair locks at the back of the head have been only summarily indicated.  The piece is exceedingly well preserved, with only a small gouge in the left cheek, a minor abrasion on the left side of the nose, and breaks and slight chipping at the base of the neck.  The diagonal cut at the left side of the neck appears to be intentional rather than the result of an accidental fracture.  The cut,  the slight turning out of the marble at the left lower edge of the neck, and the traces of a rounded edge on the lower right border of the neck indicate that the base of the neck had once been fashioned into a tenon for insertion into a seperately carved statue body (now lost).3  The diagonal cut on the left side of the neck suggests that further that this statue body had been represented clothed in toga or with a military cloak draped over a cuirass or a tunic, with folds of drapery arranged on the left shoulder against the cut in the neck.  A slightly yellowish patina covers the entire head, and traces of ferric oxide mottle much of the surface.  Dark brown, specle -like accrections appear on the hair and face, especially in the tear ducts, nostrils, mouth and ears.  In the right eye, disoloration caused by the ferric oxcide gives the false impression of a painted iris.  There are in fact no remaining traces of paint in the eyes or elsewhere on the piece, though the Walters sculpture, like most ancient marble portraits, would have originally been painted.

     The turn of the head to the left side (from the point of view of the sculpture), the somewhat larger size of the left ear (which is set farther back on the head), and the slightly greater width of the left half of the forehead indicate that the optimum view of the Walters portrait is achieved when the head is turned slightly and seen from the right side of the face, as in top photo.  Also providing evidence for the way in which the sculpture was originally intended to be displayed is the incompleteness of the carving behind the ears and at the back of the head (fig. 4 back of head).  As in a number of other Roman portraits, the lack of attention to the back indicates that the statue to which the Walters head belonged had been designed to be set against a wall or in a niche, where the back would not have been readily visible.  The short hairstyle with locks brushed to either side from about the middle of the forehead and the carving of the hair in a linear manner in relatively low relief suggest that the portrait was created in early imperial times.  Also in accord with such a date is the classicizing treatment of the face, with its smooth and rounded volumes that have beeen somewhat softly modelled.  In spite of a certain idealization of the facial features, the physiognomy is sufficiently distinct to suggest that the Walters portrait represents a member of the julio-Claudian family, rather than someone anonymous, private individual.  Of the various Julio-Claudians possibly portrayed in the Walters head, the most likely candidate-at least on the basis of our present day knowledge- is Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, better known today by his boyhood nickname Caligula (literally, "Little Boot"). 4

Gauis' Historical Reputation 

      Gaius-to use his proper name- was born on August 31, 12 A.D., to Augustus' granddaughter, Agripina Maior, and Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Tiberius.  In 37 A.D. Gaius succeeded Tiberius as Princeps ("First Citizen") of the Roman state.  Our knowledge of the "real" Gaius is limited and much distorted by a generally hostile ancient literary tradition, replete with outrageous and unsubstantiated gossip, which has left us with the impression that he was a cruel and psychopathic monster.5  Such an image has, of course, been perpetuated and even further distorted by popular modern writers and producers, who have shaped the general public's conception of Gaius.  This rather one-sided view has, unfortunately, also been furthered by those scholars who would see in Gaius' surviving portraits the countenance of madness, even though it is hardly conceivable that a sculptor would have openly dared to represent the living Gaius as looking insane.  As we shall see, Gaius in fact appears in his portraits as serious, at times even severe, a demeanor undoubtedly designed to add gravity to the features of one who had been thrust into a position of great importance at a relatively young age.  A countenance of sterness (torvitas) had been adopted earlier for portraits of the young Augustus (Octavian)6 and of his adopted son and destined successor, also named Gaius, who died in 4 A.D., at the age of twenty-three.7   Taking into consideration not only the biased nature of the ancient literary tradition but also epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological evidence, modern historians have done much to rehabilitate the reputation of Gaius (Caligula).  When all available information is weighed, the picture of Gaius that emerges is not that of an insane individual, but of an impetuous and tacless youth, unfit for the awesome power and responsibity of the Principate.  When Gaius became Princeps athe the age of twenty-four on March 18, 37 A.D., following the death of Tiberius, there was much hope for the son of the extremely popular Germanicus.  It was not long, however, before relations with the Roman Senate deteriorated for a umber of reasons which cannot be discussed here.8   Some of the seemingly bizarre acts which Gaius either carried out or professed to be planning to carry out were no doubt calculated to insult and demean the Senate, many members of which he had good reason to hate.  His actions exposed more clearly than ever before how servile and sycophantic the Senate had become and served to illuminate the dangers of concentrating virtually unlimited power in the hands of one individual.  In addition to the Senat, Gaius eventually managed to alienate a number of his own soldiers, a part of the urban masses of Rome, and some of his own Praetorian Guard.9  His assasanation on January 24, 41 A.D., was carried out by members of the Praetorian Guard with Senatorial collusion.  After Gaius' death,  his name was obliterated from some inscriptions, 10 and many of his portraits were destroyed, defaced, recut, or removed.  The removal of Gaius' images, at least in Rome, had been authorized by his uncle and successor Claudius, who nevertheless did not permit the official damnation of Gaius' memory (damnatio memoriae) desired by the senate.11 And while Claudius annulled all of Gaius' acts, he would not allow the day of Gaius' death to be celebrated as a festival, even though that day also marked the beginning of Claudius' own principate.12

Representations of Gaius

Notwithstanding Gaius' unpopularity in certain circles, some two dozen sculptural likenesses of him have survived and been identified through comparison with his numerous inscribed coin images and the descriptions supplied by ancient literary sources.13  In comparing Gaius' portraits in various media with written accounts of his physical appearance, certain allowances must of course be made:  on the one hand, extant images of him may be flattering to some degree, since in most cases they would have been based ultimately upon official portraits, presumably portraying him as he wished to be represented; on the other hand, hostile ancient literary sources may have exaggerated negative aspects of his appearance.  The most complete written accounts of what Gaius looked like are provided by Seneca, who was a contemporary of Gaius and who suffered abuse at his hands, and by Suetonius, who drew upon many negative sources in writing his biography of Gaius in the second century A.D.14  It may deduced from these accounts that Gaius had a pale complextion, hollow temples, deeply set eyes, and a stern countenance.  It is also reported that he was very tall, with a large frame, big feet, and thin neck and legs, and that his neck and body were hairy, while the hair of his head was thinning and completely gone on top.  Though there is a certain variety in representations of Gaius on coins of his Principate (e.g., figs.),15 as well on gems (e.g., fig.)16 and in sculpture (e.g. figs),17 he is generally portrayed as having deeply set eyes, hair growing low on the neck, and, as been noted, a serious and sometimes even stern countenance.  In his sculptural likenesses he also commonly has hollow temples, a feature which is not, of course, apparent in his profile on coins and gems.  The degree of hollowness of the temples varies somewhat from portrait to portrait.  In contrast to the descriptions provided by ancient writers, Gaius' images on coins and gems and in sculpture usually does not show him to have a thin neck, though it is generally rather long, and none of his extant images show him bald.  In most cases his hair is not at all sparse on top, with the only indication of premature hair loss being a high and receding hairline in images that either certainly or probably date from the period of his Principate, when he was between twenty-four and twenty-eight years of age.  In Gaius' portraiture, moreover, the cranium is wide and the face triangular and/or elongated.  The forehead is shown as either vertical or sloping foreward somewhat, and there is often a slight horizontal depression across the middle.  The eyebrows either follow the curve of the upper eyelids or, more commonly, appear to angle up from the inner to the outer corner of the eyes.  The tip of the nose is usually bulbous, with the degree of bulbousness varying from one work to another.  The mouth is generally small, with a protruding upper lip which at times emphasizes the otherwise slight recession of the lower lip.  One or both lips are often represented as being rather thin, though they also are on occasion somewhat fleshy. In addition, the upper lip usually dips down over the lower lip at the mid-point.  The chin is prominent, but not heavy.  In many of Gaius' sculptural images the hair forks at or near the middle of the forehead and is brushed to either side of the fork.  From either corner of the forehead, locks curl back toward the center, with a closed or nearly closed "pincer" almost always being formed by the locks over the right side of the forehead.  This hairstyle was no doubt intended to recall that of his father Germanicus and of his adoptive grandfather Tiberius in certain of their portraits.18       

The Walters Portrait

       In facial features, the head in The Walters Art Gallery shows many points of comparison with established likenesess of Gaius.  The face is triangular and somewhat elongated, the forehead is vertical; and the cranium is wide.  The Walters head also has the concave temples, deeply set eyes, and broad forehead noted in ancient literary desriptions of Gaius.  As is usually the case in his portraits, the eyebrows angle up from the inner to the outer corners of the eyes.  In images of Gaius, this upward angling of the eyebrows is at least in part associated with his characteristically stern expression (torvitas), which served to add a certain gravity to the young man's features.  In the Walters head, as in a statue of Gaius in Gortyn, Crete (fig. ),19 vertical frown lines over the bridge of the nose are not apparent, even though the brows give the impression of being somewhat contracted.  Slightly overlapping the outer corners of the eyelids of the Walters head are pad-like folds of flesh, which are apparent also in the portrait of Gaius in the J.Paul Getty Museum, Malibu (fig.),20 an in the Small Museum, Carthage (fig.),21 The nose of the Walters sculpture is almost straight, like that of Gaius on a gem in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum (fig.),22 in a veiled head in the Herakleion National Museum (figs.),23 and in a portrait in the Worcester Art Museum (figs.).24  In its length, the nose of the Walters sculpture compares favorably with that of Gaius in several of his portraits, most notably the statue in Gortyn, the head in Herakleion, and a small bronze bust  in the Schinz-Ruesch Collection in Zurich (figs.).25 However, the nose of the Walters head does not angle out to the same degree that it does in the majority of Gaius' portraits,  and the tip of the nose is only very slightly bulbous.  THe mouth is characteristically small, with a protruding upper lip that dips down slightly over the lower at the mid-point.  Atypical is the rather pronounced outward curl of the lower lip.  Both lips are somewhat full, as in the portraits of Gaius in the Herakleion National Museum and the Worcester Art Museum.  The Walters head and Herakleion head also compare closely in profile in the relationship of the upper and lower lips, as well as in the shape of the chin, which is, however, somewhat more prominent in the Herakleion sculpture.   The back of the head of the Walters portrait is summarily treated and abnormally flat, precluding comparison in this regard with established likenesses of Gaius.  The hairstyle is similiar to that of Gaius in many of his surviving portraits in that the locks fork near the middle of the forehead and then curl back toward the center from the right and left sides of the forehead.  However, the locks over the right eye of the Walters head do not form the nearly closed "pincer" that they commonly do in Gaius' portraiture.  The hair at the back of the head is of moderate length and curls toward the ears at the nape.  Though this length of hair and pattern of curls at the nape are not without parallel in Gaius' portraiture (e.g., fig.), his hair more commonly extends rather low on his neck and is brushed forward horizontally at the nape.  The locks on the forehead of the Walters portrait extend almost halway down the forehead, with the fringe of locks angling down slightly from the right to the left side of the head.  The length of the locks on the forehead suggests that if this were indeed a likeness of Gaius, it would represent him at a younger age than do the portraits of his Principate which show him with a receding hairline.  It is clear, in any case, that images of Gaius were created before he came to power in 37 A.D.  Attesting to the exitstence of such pre-principate portraits are inscriptions found on the island of Calymna (c.18 A.D.?)26 and in Vienna in Gallia Narbonensis (33-37 A.D.).27  A likness of Gaius created prior to 37 A.D. would have also served as a model for his image on the few coins of Tiberius' Principate that include a representation of Gaius.  To my knowledge, Gaius' portrait appears on Tiberius' coinage only on aes minted between 31 A.D. and 37 A.D. at Carthago Nova (Spain).28  In most of these examples, the image is too crude and/or worn to be of any iconographical value.  It is nevertheless possible to see in a few cases, most notably a recently published bronze coin in the British Museum (fig.),29 that Gaius' hair extends nearly half-way down the forehead, as in the Walters head.  As far as can be determined from available published examples, the coins of Carthago Nova represent Gaius' hair as consistenly shorter at the nape of the neck than is usually the case in numismatic images of him from his own Principate.   In this respect also, the pre-Princiapte portraits of Gaius on the Carthago Nova coins compare favorably with the Walters head. 

Possible Pre-Principate Portraits of Gaius    

      In sculpture in the round there has been no undisputed identification of a pre-Principate likeness of Gaius.  The two works that seem most likely to be youthful images of Gaius, and which also resemble the Walters head, are a bust in the Museo Archeologico, La Spezia (Fig.), and a head in the Staatliche Kuntsammlungen, Dresden (fig.).30  The La Spezia and Dresden portraits are so similiar to one another in physiognomy and hairstlye that it is virtually certain that they represent the same individual.  Features of these two sculptures which are typical of Gaius' portraiture-and which are evident also in the Walters head are the broad forehead and the protrusion of the upper lip, which dips down slighly over the lower at mid-point.  The lips are rather full, like those of the Herakleion and Worcester portraits of Gaius Figs.), as well as the Walters sculpture.  As in Gaius' established portraiture, the lower lip does not curl out to the same degree that it does in the Walters head.  The bottom half of the nose of both La Spezia and Dresden sculptures is broken off (and restored in the case of the Dresden head), but to the extent that the nose is preserved in each case, it is similiar in size and shape to that of the Walters head and of Gaius in his accepted portraits.  As in the majority of Gaius' established likenesses, the nose angles out from the face of the La Spezia and resden sculptures more than in the Walters head.  The chin  of both the La Spezia and Dresden portraits is relatively strong, with the chin of the Dresden head comparing particularly closely in shape and size with that of the Walters sculpture.  In the La Spezia bust, fleshy folds are formed between the eyes and the outer corners of the eyebrows, as in the Getty Museum and Carthage portraits of Gaius (figs.) and in the Walters head.  The eyebrows of the La Spezia and Dresden sculptures follow the contours of the upper lids , rather than angling up from the inner to the outer corner fo the eyes.  In this respect, The La Spezia and Dresden sculptures resemble most closely the portraits of Gaius in the Getty Museum (fig.) and the Kerakleion Museum (fig.), both of which have almost placid expressions, rather than the more serious or even severe look typical of Gaius' portraiture and evident also in the Walters head.  Of particualr importance in attempting to determine the identity of the individual represented in the La Spezia and Dresden portraits is the angle of the forehead in profile.  This feature constitutes one of the principal iconographical differences betwen Gaius and his father Germanicus, whom Gaius resembles.  In Germanicus' portraiture the forehead either is nearly vertical, as in a head in the Museo Arqueologico in Cadiz,31 or slopes back, as in a portrait in Leptis Magna and in the majority of his other images.32  In Gaius' liknesses, the forehead either is vertical or angles forward, as in the Zurich bust (fig.).  The forward slope of the forehead of the Dresden  serves to indicate, therefore, that the individual represented in the Dresden and La Spezia portraits is more likely to be Gaius than Germanicus.  The La spezia and Dresden sculptures, finally, share an affinity with the Walters head in hairstyle.  In all three works tha hair forks at the same point, between the inner corner fo the right eye and the center of the forehead, and the locks over the left side of the forehead are arranged similarly.  Over the right side of the forehead of the La Spezia and Dresden portraits, two principal locks at the right temple curl back towards the center, with a nearly closed "pincer"  being formed by the locks over the right eye.  In the Walters head, however, the locks the locks do not create this pincer effect.  The length of the hair at the nape of the neck of the Walters portrait is comparable to that of the Dresden head, while the manner in which the locks are brushed forward at the nape of the neck of the Walters sculpture is like that of the La Spezia bust.  In both the La Spezia and Dresden portraits the hair extends even lower on the forehead than it does in the Walters head.  The slightly longer fringe of hair on the forehead and the more boyish features of the La Spezia and Dresden sculptures suggest that these two works reresent an individual at a somewhat younger age than does the Walters head.  The La Spezia bust would seem to represent a youth of about sixteen to seventeen years, and the Dresden head, one of perhaps eighteeen to nineteen, while the young man of the Walters sculpture appears to be in his early twenties.  If the La Spezia, Dresden and Walters portrait are indeed all likenesses of Gaius, they would therefore be pr-Principate images of him.  The Walters sculpture might than be regarded as a variant of the same portrait type as the La Spezia and Dresden sculptures or as a new portrait type of him, created between 31 A.D. and 33 A.D. to commemorate important events in his life during this period.  The downfall of Gaius' two older brothers, who had come under suspicion of conspiracy along with their mother, had suddenly advanced Gaius to a position of prominence in his nineteenth year.  In 31/32 A.D. he was summoned to Capri by Tiberius, received on the same day the toga virilis (the "manly toga"),33 and shortly thereafter was also appointed to the religious office if pontifex.34   In 33 A.D. Gaius was nominated to his first political position, the quaestorship, and was granted the right of holding office five years before the usual age.35  Prior to becoming Princeps he also received local honors at Pompeii (in 34 A.D.)36 and in Spain, at Carthago Nova37 and Caesaraugusta.38

The Question of Style

     Stylistically, the Walters head is acceptable as a creation of the third decade A.D. though many portraits of this period are rendered in a classisizing style that is rather cold and hard, a number of others are softly modelled and plastically carved.  These divergent tendencies are evident in the portraiture not only of the later Tiberian period, but also of Gaius' own Principate.39  The Walters head reflects both tendencies, in that the volumes of the face are smooth and rounded, while the individualizing facial features themselves are somewhat softened.  In the carving of the facial features, The Walters head approaches the portrait of Gaius in the Getty Museum (fig.), a work which is, however, more sensitively treated and of significantly higher artistic quality.  Like the vast majority of Gaius' images, the Getty Museum head was almost certainly created prior to his death in 41 A.D.40 In the carving of the hair, the Walters sculpture finds a particulary close parallel in a portrait of the Ny Carslberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, representing Tiberius Gemellus at about the age of twelve.41  Since Tiberius Gemellus was born in 19 A.D.,42 the Copenhagen head may be dated to the later years of  Tiberius' Principate, most likely to the early 30s A.D. The Walters and Copenhagen sculptures are alike in the rendering of the cap of hair in low relief, the carving of individual locks in a linear manner, and the summary treatment of the locks at the sides of the head.  Even in the carving of facial features, the Copenhagen portrait does not stand far from the Walters sculpture.  In fact, in the sylistic treatment of the facial features, the Walters head occupies an intermediate position between the portrait of Tiberius Gemellus in Copenhagen and the Getty Museum head of Gaius. 

Identification-with Reservation 

     In summary, then, the Walters sculpture may be a portrait of Gaius at about the time he first came into pominence in the 30s A.D. If so, this work would be of great importance iconographically as one of the very few pre-Principate sculptural images of him.  However, such an identification must be offered with reservation. since the resemblance of the Walters head to Gaius in his established portraiture is not sufficiently great to make the identifications certain.  The dissmiliarities in physiognomy which have been noted in the Walters sculpture might, of course, be attributed in part to the sculptor's lack of skill as a portraitist.  The slight sifference in the hairstyle of the Walters portrait might be explained as reresenting a variation of one of Gaius' iconographical hairdos or as reflecting the arrangement of some hitherto unknown youthful portrait type of him.  The possibility should also be left open that the Walters head represents a thusfar unidentified member of the Julio-Claudian family or even a private individual who resembled-or who was portrayed as resembling Gaius.  It is to be hoped that futue research in the especially difficult area of Julio-Claudian portraiture, as well as future archaeological finds, may shed some light on the problems posed by the Walters head.

Prof.  John Pollini
University of Southern California            

          



 

NOTES

1.  Walters Art Gallery, inv. no 23.102  Total H. (excluding base) 14.5 cm; H. from chin to top of head 11.5 cm; W. 8.5 cm.  The Walters head is published here for the first time with the kind permission of Diana Buitron, Curator of Greek and Roman Art. I would also like to thank Terry Weisser, head of the Department of Conservation and Technical Research, and her assistant, Carol Snow, for cleaning the head and removing the modern plaster that had been about the base of the neck.  Thanks are likewise due to the museum's staff photographer, Harry J. Connolly, Jr., for photographing the piece for the present publication.

2.  In consulting the files of the Walters Art Gallery concerning this sculpture, I learned that Dorothy Kent Hill, former Curator of Greek and Roman Art, had independently noted that this portrait might possibly represent Gaius (Caligula).

3.   Though marble portaits with tenons are not usually of the relatively small size of the Walters head, there are nevertheless parallels in the early imperial period for under life-sized portraits worked for insertion into statue bodies; see e.g., two statues from Magnesia on the Maeander (c.25 B.C.) in the Archaeological Museum, Instanbul, inv. nos. 608, 609:  J Inan and E. Rosenbaum, Roman and Early Byzantine portrait Sculpture in Asia Minor (London 1966), pp. 168-70, (#222, 223) pls. CXII. 1-2, CXIII, 1-2, CXXIV. 3-4; as well as a Julio-Claudian female portait found at Side (Side Museum, inv. no. 161):  ibid., p. 191, (#262)  pl.CXLII.,5-6.  For an example of an imperial portrait in marble comparable in size to Walters head, see the head of Augustus in a private collection in Munich:  P. Zanker, Die Bildnisse des Augustus (with K. Viermeisel et al.) (Munich:  1979), pp. 10, 63 (#5, 16).

4.   The legionaries of his father's army gave the nickname "Caligula" to Gaius, who as a small boy would be dressed up as a soldier, boots and all:  Suetonius, Life of Gaius Caligula, 9:  Tacitus, Annals, 1.41: Seneca, De Constantia Sapientis, 18.4.  In inscriptions and coin legends Gaius was understandably not called by his babyish nickname.  Ancient literary accounts, moreover, commonly refer to him as Gaius, not Caligula.  On the life and career of Gaius:  M. Gelzer, s.v. "C. (Iulius) Caesar Germanicus, " Real-Encyclopadie der Klassischen Alertumwissenschaft X (1919): 381-423 (#133); Prosopographia Imperii Romani (2nd ed.) IV (1952-1966): 168-72 (#217); J.P.V.D. Balsdon, The Emperor Gaius (Caligula) (Oxford 1934); C.H.V. Sutherland, Coinage in Roman Imperial Policy (London 1951), pp. 102-25: and most recently C.J. Simpson, "The Cult of the Emperor Gaius," Latomus 40 (1981): 489-511. Cf. V. Massaro and I. Montgomery , Gaius-Mad, Bad, Ill or All Three?" Latomus 37 (1978): 894-909, whose modern medical diagnosis of Gaius is hardly valid since it requires the acceptance of the veracity of a very biased ancient literary tradition.  With regard to the errors and biases in the ancient literary sources concerning Gaius, see further M.P. Charlesworth, The Tradition about Caligula," Cambridge Historical Journal 4 (1933): 105-19. 

5.    Our principal ancient writers on the life of Gaius were either themselves personal enemies of him or drew heavily upon aristocratic sources hostile to his memory in writing their accounts.  Contrast, however, the brief statement concerning Gaius made by the late first/early second century A.D. Greek biographer Plutarch:  In his Life of Antony (87.4). Plutarch indicates that Gaius governed with distinction.  But for a short time only, and then was put to death with his wife and child:  (greek text unavailable at this time).

6.   For the "Actium" portrait type, representing Augustus (Octavian) with knitted brows:  P. Zanker, Studien zu den Augustus-Portrats 1(Abhandlungen Gottingen 85), (Gottingen:  1973):  U. Hausmann, "Zur Typologie und Ideologie des Augustusportrats," Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt II. 12.2 (1981): 535-50.

7.  See, e.g., The following portraits of Gaius Caesar:

a.  Head in the Museo Oliveriano, Pesaro, inv. no.,3294:  L. Fabbrini, "Di un ritratto inedito di giovenetto nei Musei Oliveriani di Pesaro," Rendiconti della R. Accademia dei Lincei Ser.8.10(1955):469-88, figs. 1-6; Zanker (see n. 6), p.47, pl. 36a.:  Z. Kiss, L' iconographie des princes julio-claudiens au temps d' Auguste et de Tibere (Warsaw:  1976), p. 43, figs. 66-67. 

b.  Portrait in the Sala dei Busti, Musei Vaticani, inv. no. 714:  E. Simon, "Das neugefundene Bildnis des Gaius Caesar in Mainz," Mainzer Zeitschrift 58 (1963):  7, figs. 11-12, 33-34:  W. Helbig, Fuhrer durch die offentlichen Sammlungen klassicher Altertumer in Rom (4th ed.) I(1963):119 (#157), (H.v. Heintze):  G. Hafner. "Der angeblich antike Marmorkopf aus Mainz."  Mitteilungen des deutschen archaologischen Instituts, Romische Abteilung 71(1964): 179f, pls. 42-4, 44.4, 45.4, 46.4, 47.2; Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 162f., figs.,565-66:  Hausmann (see n. 6), p. 526f.

c.   Youthful male on the altar from Vicus Sandaliarius, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, inv. no. 972:  G. Mansuelli, Galleria degli Uffizzi I (Rome:  1958), pp. 203-06 (#205) fig. 198:  L. Fabbrini, "Caligola:  il ratratto dell'adolescenza e il ritratto della apoteosi,"  Mitteilungen des deutschen archaologischen Instituts, Romische Abteilung 73-74 (1966-67): 136, pl.41.1; Kiss (see note 7a), p.38, fig. 36.

d.    Bronze head (from the Via del Babuino) in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome:  C. Pietrangeli, "Su un ritratto bronzeo dei Musei Capitolini," Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma 72 (1946-48): 57-65, pl. I-II:  Fabbrini, (seen n. 7c) 135f., pls. 42.1, 43.1:  Kiss (see n. 7a), p.40, figs. 46-47:  Hausmann (see n. 6), p. 529f., figs. 2-3. 

On the iconography of Gaius Caesar, see further J. Pollini, The Portraiture of Gaius and Lucius Caesar (forthcoming)

8.  With regard to Gaius' relations with the Senate, see especially Gelzer (see n. 4), pp. 384-423: and Balsdon (see n. 4).

9.   It is evident, however, from Josephus' detailed account of events following the assasanation of Gaius (Antiquitates Judaicae 19.1.15-20) that Gaius was by no means hated by one and all. 

10.  On the defacement of Gaius' inscriptions: Gelzer (see n. 4), p. 417:  R. R. Rosborough, An Epigraphic Commentary on Suetonius's Life of Gaius Caligula (Pennsylvania:  1920), p. 44.

11.   Dio Cassius, 60.4, 5-6.

12.   Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 11.3.  

13.   On th iconography of Gaius:  R. West, Romische Portrat-Plastik (Munich:  1933), pp. 201-03:   V. Poulsen, " Portraits of Caligula,"  Acta Archaeologica 29 (1958): 175-90:  Fabbrini (see n. 7c), pp. 134-46:  R. Brilliant, "An Early Imperial Portrait of Caligula," Acta ad archaeologiam et Atrium Historiam Pertnentia, Institutum Romanum Norvegiae 4(1969):  13-17:  H. Jucker, "Caligula," Arts in Virginia 13 (1973): 16-25: F. Johansen, "Portraetter af C. Iulius Caesar Germanicus kaldet Caligula," Meddeleser fra Ny Carlberg Glyptotek 37 (1981): 70-99; and forthcoming, the volume on the portraiture of Gaius by H. Jucker in the series Das romische Herrscherbild.

14.   For Seneca's account: De Constantia Sapientis, 18.1: for that of Suetonius:  Life of Gaius Caligula, 50.  See also Tacitus, Histories, 15.72, who alludes in passing ot Gaius' appearance. 

15.   Illustrated in figs.  are three coins of 37-38 A.D. in the ()

16.   With regard to the gem represented in close-up fig 9:  see n. 22.

17.   For the portraits illustrated here:  see nn. 19-21, 23-25. 

18.   Cf., e.g., the portraits of Germanicus in the Museo Capitolino, Rome (inv. no. 415), and the Ny Carlsberg Gltptotek, Copenhagen (inv. 756), and the head of Tiberius in the Vatican's Museo Chiaramonti (inv. no. 1642).  On the portrait of Germanicus (from Privertum) in the Museo Capitolino:  H. Stuart Jones, The Sculptures of the Museo Capitolino (Oxford:  1912), p. 188, pl. 46; Helbig (see n. 7b) II (1966): 131f. (#1280), (H. v. Heintze); J. Fink, "Germanicus-Portrat," Antike und Universalgeschichte, Festschrift Hans Erich Stier (Munich:  1972), p. 283, pl. 7.2 (caption to be reversed with that of pl. 7.1):  Kiss (see n. 7a) pp. 122, 147, figs. 451-52.  For the head of Germanicus in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; V. Poulsen, Les portraits romains I (Copenhagen:  1962), p.88 (#52), II pl. LXXXVIII: Fink, "Germanicus Portrat," p. 283, pl. 10.4; Kiss (see n. 7a), pp. 101-02, figs. 328-29.  On the head of Tiberius (from Veio) in the Museo Chiaramonti:  W. Amelung, Die Sculpturen des Vaticanischen Museums I (Berlin:  1903), p. 572 (#399) pl. 60; L. Polacco, Il volto di Tiberio (Rome:  1955), p. 129f., pl. XXIV;  Helbig (see n. 7b) I(1963):265 (no. 349), (H.v. Heintze); Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 123, n. 195, figs. 631-32.

19.   Fabbrini (see n. 7c), pp. 140-44, pls. 44, 45.1, 46.1, 47.1, 48.2 Jucker (see n. 13), p. 19f., fig. 10; Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 151, figs. 540-41; Johansen (see n. 13), p. 90, fig. 9.

20.   Inv. no. 72.AA .155, from Asia Minor:  Jucker (see n. 13), p. 20, fig. 13; Zanker (see n. 3), p. 96 (#10.7); J. Inan and Rosenbaum, Romische und Fruhplastik aus der Turkei (Mainz:  1979), p. 69f, (#16) pls. 13.3-4, 14.2-3; J. Frel, Roman Portraits in the Getty Museum (Los Angeles:  1981), p. 38f., 123 (#24); Johansen (see n. 13), p. 92, fig. 14.

21.    Found at Le Krib, the ancient city of Musti in Africa Proconsulare:  Fabbrini (see n. 7c), pp. 144-46, pls. 49-50; Jucker (see n. 13), p. 20; Johansen (see n. 13), p. 90, fig. 10.

22.    For the convincing identification of the seated male figure on this gem as Gaius, rather than Augustus:  H. Kyreleis, "Zu einem Kameo in Wein,"  Archaologischer Anzeiger (1970): 492-98, figs. 1, 3.  

23.     Inv. no. 64, from the Agora of Gortyn, Crete:  L. Mariani, " Some Roman Busts in the Museum of the Syllogos of Candia," American Journal of Archaeology I(1897): 266-68, fig. 1, pl. XII.1; Fabbrini (see n. 7c), p. 141f., pls. 45.2, 46.2, 47.2; C. Vermeule, Roman Imperial Art in Greece and Asia Minor (Cambridge, Massachusetts:  1968), pp. 195, 386; figs. 109A, 124; Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 151, figs. 542-43.

24.   Inv. no.1914.23, reportedly found near Marino, Italy:  Poulsen (see n. 13), p. 185f., figs. 13-14; Jucker (see n. 13), p. 20; Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 142, figs. 497-98.  

25.   H. Jucker, Das Bildnis im Blatterkelch (Lausanne:  1961), p.48f.  (#31) pl. 12; Johansen (see n. 13), p. 92, fig. 15; H. Jucker, " Iulisch-Claudische Kaiser-und Prinzenportrats als 'Palimpseste,'  "Jahrbuch des deutschen archaologischen Instituts 96(1981): 256, figs. 29-31.

26.   Inscriptiones Graecae Ad Res Romanas Pertinentes IV.1022.

27.   Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XII, 1848-49.  With regard to the Calymna and Vienna inscriptions, see also M. Stuart, " How Were Imperial Portraits Distributed thorughout the Empire?"  American Journal of Archaeology 43 (1939); 605. 

28.   A number of examples of coins of Carthago Nova with pre-principate portraits of Gaius are represented in A. Banti and L. Simonetti, Corpus Nummorum Romanorum XIII (Florence:  1977), pp. 141-50, (dated without explanation more precisely to the year 34 A.D.) with regard to these coins, see also M. Grant, Aspects of the Principate of Tiberius (American Numismatic Society Numismatic Notes and Monographs 16) (New York 1950), pp. 35, 101, pl. VI.3; A. Vives y Escudero, La Moneda hispanica IV (Madrid:  1926), p. 37 (#39-42) pl. CXXXII. 3-6. 

29.   Banti and Simonetti (see n. 28), p. 145 (#7).

30.   For the Proposal that the La Spezia and Dresden Portraits may represent the youthful Gaius (rather than his father Germanicus): H. Jucker, "Die Prinzen auf dem Augustus-Relief in Ravenna," Melanges d' histoire ancienne et d' archelolgie offerts a Paul Collart (Lausanne:  1976), p. 249, n.64.  On the bust (found in the theater in Luni) in the Museo Archeologico, La Spezia, inv. no. 54, see further C. Pietrangeli, "Appunti su due ritratti giulio-claudi." Congresso Nazionale di Studi Romani 1935.11 (1938) : 184f., pl. 22.1; A. Frova, Scavi di Luni I (1973); 49f., pl.14.1.  For the Dresden head: L. Curtius, " Ikonographische Beitrage zum portrat der Romischen Rebublik und der Julisch-Claudischen Famile XIV.  Germanicus," Mitteilungen des deutschen archaologischen Intituts I(1948):71, pl. 22; Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 133, figs. 379-80.  Also suggested by Jucker as possible (though more dubious) early likenesses of Gaius are a head in the Mueseo Archeologico, Naples (inv. no. 150226), and a badly damaged portrait from Mylasa in the Izmir Museum.  For the Naples head: Fink (see n. 18), pp. 281-83, pls. 2-3 (identified as Germanicus).  For the portrait from Mylasa:  Innan and Rosenbaum (see n. 3), p. 170 (#225) pl. CXXXV.1-2 (identified as a n unknown man of the Augustun period).  The various portraits suggested by other scholars as pre-principate likenesses of Gaius show him with receding hairline and facial features which seem to me comparable in maturity to those of a twenty-four year old, the age at which Gaius beacame Princeps. 

31.    From Medina Sidonia:  A. Garcia y Bellido, "Los retratos de Livia.  Drusus Minor y Germanicus di Medina Sidonia,:  Melanges Andre Piganiol (Paris:  1966), pp. 491-94, figs. 5-6;  Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 130, figs. 627-28;  H. Jucker, Die Prinzen des Statuenzylkus aus Veleia." Jahrbuch des deutschen archaologischen Instituts 92(1977):223, figs.7-9.

32.    For the Leptis Magna head:  S. Aurigemma, "Sculture del Foro Vecchio di Leptis Magna raffiguranti la dea Roma e principi della casa dei giulio-claudio,"  Africa Italiana 8(1940): 56-59, figs. 36-37: Kiss (see n. 7a), p. 112f., figs. 373-74.  See also the portraits of Germanicus cited in n. 18.

33.   Suetonius, Life of Caligula.  10.1.

34.   Ibid., 12.1; Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XII, 1849.

35.   Dio Cassius, 58.23.1;  Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XII.1849.

36.   Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 6396-97; Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum X. 901-904.

37.   See n. 28.

38.   H. Cohen, Description historique des monnaies frappees sous l'Empire Romain I (Paris:  1880), p. 199 (#103); Vives y Escudeo (see n. 28), p. 82 (#54-56) pl. CLI.8-10.

39.   With regard to the stylistic variety in the portraiture of Gaius, see also Jucker (see n. 13), p. 22f.

40.   To my knowledge, there is no numismatic or epigraphic evidence for Gaius' being honored after his death.  In the ancient literature, there is a passing reference in one source (Suetonius, Life of Nero, 30.1) to Nero's having envied and admired his uncle Gaius for his profligacy-a bit of gossip of questionable historical value, undoubtebly intended to blacken Nero's character by association with the much alligned Gaius.  It is of course not to be ruled out that a postumous portrait of Gaius might have been created for a private individual who had some personal affection for him.

41.   Inv. no. 1904.  Poulsen (see n. 18), p. 85f. (#49) pls. LXXXIV-LXXXV.  For other portraits of Tiberius Gemellus:  Jucker (see n. 31). pp. 228-32.

42.   Tacitus, Annals, 2.84.

Fig. 2 A Pre-Principate Portrait of Caligula? Frontal view, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. (photo courtesy Prof. John Pollini)

Fig. 3 A Pre-Principate Portrait of Caligula? Rt. profile. Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. (photo courtesy Prof. John Pollini.

Fig. 4 A Pre-Principate Portrait of Caligula? Left Profile Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.(Photo courtesy of Prof. John Pollini)

Fig. 5 A Pre-Principate Portrait of Caligula? Rear view-Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. (photo courtesy Prof. John Pollini)

Fig. 6 Sestertius of Gaius (Caligula) British Museum, London

Fig. 7 Aureus of Gaius (Caligula) and Augustus

Fig. 8 Aureus of Gaius (Caligula and his father Germanicus) cng coins

Fig. 9 Detail, gem of Gaius (Caligula) and Roma. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Courtesy J. Pollini)

Fig. 10 Statue of Caligula Phylakeion, Gortyn Crete (Photo courtesy Prof. John Pollini

Fig. 11 Head of Gaius (Caligula), J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu

Fig. 12 Carthage Head- pre-principate Caligula? Courtesy Prof. John Pollini

Figs. 13-14 Caligula-National museum, Kerakleion (photo cortesy Prof. john Pollini

Fig. 15-16 Head of Gaius (Caligula).  Worcester Art Museum.

Fig 19. SPAIN, Carthago,  Nova. Tiberius and Gaius Caligula, Caesar. 14-37 AD.
Æ Quadrans  (2.37 gm). Laureate head of Tiberius left  / Bare head of Gaius
left. RPC I 184.   Joe Geranio- The Portraiture of Caligula (Public Domain)

FIGS. 20-21 Caligula? La Spezia Bust, (Photo courtesy John Pollini

Fig. 17-18 Bust of Gaius (Caligula).
Private Collection.

Figs. 22-23 Dresen Head- Pre-principate Caligula? Courtesy Prof. John Pollini