Emperor Wearing the Corona Civica at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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This resolute figure wears the corona civica, a wreath of oak leaves. Originally a modest award to soldiers who had rescued a comrade in battle, an honorary oak wreath was given to the emperor Augustus early in his reign, and it soon became an insignia of power, an imperial prerogative maintained by all his successors, down to the end of the Roman Emperor. This imperial head has been recarved from an earlier portrait, probably that of the Julio-Claudian emperor Caligula. Remnants of the original coiffure can be seen behind the ears. Such reuse of marble statues was quite common in the third century A.D. (Source, from plaque at museum, 2015)   This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.