A revival of the Antique ornamental portrait bust with coloured marbles occurred in Rome from the end of the 16th century. Many sculptors turned their hand to the task, often integrating authentic Ancient elements into contemporary compositions. The present striking bust of Perseus, or possibly Alexander the Great, belongs to this Baroque trend. Comparisons can be drawn with one particular sculptor working in Rome at this time: the Frenchman Nicolas Cordier (1567-1612).
Cordier was employed extensively by Cardinal Scipione Borghese on the restoration of several of his Antiquities in the Villa Borghese, the most celebrated being the Zingarella. This experience with, and taste for, Antique sculpture is a characteristic of Cordier and his followers, and is reflected also in the present bust. The almost geometrical grecian nose, the wide eyes and small mouth are echoed by the physiognomy of Cordier's figures (op. cit., figs. 101-5). Likewise, the imaginative treatment of the zoomorphic helmet and the narrow oval facial type find similarities in a figure of Justice by Valsoldino (op. cit., fig. 287).