By examining similar numismatic portraits, this sculpture, found in 1903 in the area of the church of San Teodoro on the Palatine, can be identified as the emperor Marcus Aurelius at a young age. The portrait’s face, strongly characterized by large eyes, by a sparse beard made up of small tufts of hair that only partially cover the cheeks and chin, and by an orderly moustache, is framed by a voluminous mass of curls arranged neatly across a high forehead. The head was created to be inserted into a statue. On the basis of its physical characteristics, this portrait is dateable to 144 AD, the year of Marcus Aurelius’ marriage to Faustina the Younger, and was probably created to decorate the imperial residence.