CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

The two beardless profile heads are shown wearing the laurel wreath, possibly suggesting a connection to the Imperial family. The practice of producing portraits with multiple members of the Imperial family together became common during the Antonine dynasty as a way to declare the succession line which, in this period, was by adoption rather than blood. For an intaglio showing Septimius Severus facing Caracalla and Geta see the State Hermitage Museum inv. no. 21653.