Kein Beitrag zum spätantiken Mainz

Überlegungen zum sog. Kopf des Konstantin aus Mainz-Kastel

Abstract

This article is devoted to a Roman limestone portrait found off Mainz-Kastel in the Rhine in 1937, but only made public in 2008. Since a study by Walburg Boppert, it has been regarded as a portrait of the Emperor Constantine and is used as a symbol of the late flourishing of the ancient city at the beginning of the 4ᵗʰ century. The object forms the starting point for a critical methodological reflection on whether and how late antique portraits from the provinces in particular can be safely attributed to emperors. According to this, the iconographic findings expressly do not support the interpretation as Constantine. On the other hand, a comparison with examples from the immediate vicinity on both an iconographic and a stylistic basis suggests an early imperial dating of the head, which is probably to be understood as part of a funerary statue probably erected around Mainz in the Claudian-Neronian period.