This portrait of Antinous from the so called "main type"can be considered a good and faithful image of the archetype which, to deify and worship this young man of singular beauty, a favourite of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, was possibly conceived around 131, shortly after his untimely death by drowning in the river Nile.
The young man looks slightly to the left, although it is not entirely certain that the position of the head is correct, as the bust is separated from the head by a thick crack and the two parts do not coincide at any point. The absent and mostly melancholic gaze, the soft features, the straight nose and the thickly curled hair are characteristic of all portraits of Antiinoo, whose graceful face is universally known thanks to its representation on numerous statues, medals, coins and cameos created by Hadrian's insistence on propagating the aestheticist cult of his young friend.
The date of execution could be placed in the period of maximum development of the cult of Antinous, between his death in the summer of 130 and that of his protector, the Emperor Hadrian, in 138.
