Octavian Caesar (63 BC–AD 14), great-nephew and heir to Julius Caesar (assassinated in 44 BC), defeated the troops of Marc Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt in 31 BC, marking the end of the Roman Republic. A grateful Roman Senate bestowed upon him the name “Augustus.” He ruled Rome from 31 BC until his death in AD 14 as its first emperor. Augustus strove to return peace and prosperity to Rome, and the period was characterized by a series of new laws he instituted.

Portraits of Augustus were many, and two general types have emerged: the earlier “Octavian,” and the later “Augustan.” This portrait is an example of the latter, noticeably lacking the wide cranium, heavy brow, and prominent ears of the “Octavian.” “Augustan” portraits derive their less individualized and more idealized features from earlier Greek sculpture and mostly date from shortly after Augustus’s death and subsequent deification. This sedate, idealizing form of representation continued in various forms during the remainder of the Early Empire, which came to an end in AD 284 with the rule of Diocletian.