This well-executed head does not seek to be a lifelike portrait but depicts Livia as an idealized, youthful figure. Born in 58 B.C., Livia would have been in her 70s or 80s when it was carved, probably in the reign of her son, Tiberius. As the emperor Augustus' wife, she exerted enormous influence over the imperial court and, even after his death in A.D. 14, she retained her prestige by association with the deified Augustus, the ruling emperor Tiberius, and her other descendants, who included the future emperors, Gaius (Caligula), Claudius, and Nero.
