The statue of Emperor Tiberius (14. – 37. AD)

3D Model

The statue of Emperor Tiberius displayed in a toga, with his head covered (velatio capitis). In his right hand he held a simpulum, the sign of the supreme pontiff (pontifex maximus), and in the left a scrolla symbol of statesmanship power. It displays the Emperor as an elderly person and a thorough iconographic analysis clearly shows that this is Tiberius. A curved nose, a wide and obese face, a slanted forehead with protrusions just under the hair are all distinctive features of Tiberius’ looks.

He belongs to the most famous and monumental group of imperial statues, discovered on the Forum of Nin (Aenona) in the 18th century. In connection with the imperial promotion in Aenona, the statues of the Julio-Claudian dynasty were put up (first half 1st century AD). They included at least eight sculptures, of which four are kept today in the Archaeological Museum in Zadar.

This work has been supported in part by Croatian Science Foundation under the project UIP-2017-05-2694: http://gal.unizd.hr/en/