The head of a bearded man (MΘ 2460), about 33 cm tall, is made of white fine-grained marble, probably Pentelic, and comes from Thessaloniki. It is reported to have been found in Alexandrou Svolou Street in May 1957.

This intact and relatively well-preserved head bears a few deflections on the tip of the nose, on the moustache and on the locks of hair. It is about a mature man with a rich crown and long beard, relatively flat facial surface, large almond-shaped eyes and a contemplative, somewhat melancholic gaze, elements that place him in a series of portraits based on classical models, such as the portrait of Plato, and, obviously, in the category of "philosophers".

Typologically, it recalls portraits of Marcus Aurelius, mainly those of the so called "third type" (160 or 161 AD), which justifies the above dating, while stylistically, it belongs to the Antonine era, and in the products of Attic production. The comparison of the head with a portrait of Marcus Aurelius in the Louvre Museum dates it to 160-180 AD. In order to determine the workshop of manufacture, which is Attic, one may observe the stylistic affinity of this portrait with a portrait head in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Inv. No. 403) which is contemporary of the portrait.

Based on elements such as the frontality, the Attic origin and the close relationship with relative portraits, it is almost certain that the head comes from a herm. It probably belonged to a funerary monument, mainly because of its location near the eastern wall, so it is more related to the eastern cemetery than to public buildings.

You may see the exhibit in the permanent exhibition “Thessaloniki” Hall 3