After restoring the Republic in 27 BCE, at 36 years of age Octavian was granted the title Augustus by the Senate, which from then onwards was included as part of his name. His programme of religious reform reinstated cults and rituals which had long lost their original meaning.
The religious devotion, or pietas, of Augustus was made an object of public ostentation prior to 12 BCE, when he was elevated to the highest-ranking priestly office of Pontifex Maximus. The Princeps now cultivated a new public image, that of the pious Roman performing his sacrificial duties, his head covered with part of his toga – the traditional Roman attire which Augustus reintroduced as a symbol of untarnished moral standing. The sculpted portrait on display here shows Augustus with his head covered and must have been part of a full-length representation in a toga which has been lost, similar to the statue of Augustus discovered in Via Labicana.
Certain feaures of the emperor, such as his familiar protruding ears, have been rendered with a degree of realism. Signs of age, such as forehead wrinkles or hollow cheeks, have been attenuated, conferring on the work an appearance of solemn timelessness.