Object Image

Bronze appliqué in the form of a bust of a barbarian

Unknown Artist

The barbarian tribes that confronted the Romans along the Rhine and Danube frontiers were often troublesome and dangerous, but they offered no serious military threat to the Empire, whose armies were better equipped, trained, and organized. The main difficulty lay in controlling and pacifying men who did not recognize the power and authority of Rome.

Credit: Rogers Fund, 1918

Late 1st–2nd century A.D.
Bronze
6.4 x 6.4cm
18.145.21
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection