Augustus

*"The problem of leadership is inevitably: Who will play God?"*—Frank Herbert, *God Emperor of Dune* *** This is my 3D capture of the [Skulpturhalle Basel's](http://www.skulpturhalle.ch/) plaster cast of the Copenhagen [Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek's](http://www.glyptoteket.dk) 1st-century AD marble bust of a [young Augustus](https://www.kulturarv.dk/kid/VisVaerk.do?vaerkId=493504). Discovered in Fayum, Egypt, the bust is in the style of the iconic full-figure *[Prima Porta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prima_Porta)* portait of Augustus, which Camille Paglia describes in *[Sexual Personae](http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300043969)* as an example of aesthetics-as-statecraft: *"Rome took the eroticism and dreamy obliqueness out of Greek iconic sculpture. The great Prima Porta statue of Augustus, for example, is kouros turned suave, sober diplomat. Law and custom became sacred ends in themselves. The Roman persona was a public construction: it had severity, weight, density."* Pro tip: gravitas or no, [don't eat the figs](http://bit.ly/1kkH4cz). —Cosmo Wenman [@CosmoWenman](http://www.twitter.com/CosmoWenman) [cosmowenman.com](http://cosmowenman.com) cosmo.wenman@gmail.com *** I captured this work as part of my project, *"Through A Scanner, Skulpturhalle."* You can see the rest of the results at [thingiverse.com/thing:83781](http://thingiverse.com/thing:83781) *** *Kopf des Augustus, Typus der Statue von Primaporta* Skulpturhalle Basel accession number 753 *Kopf des Augustus, Typus der Statue von Primaporta. Aus dem Fayum. Marmor. Kopenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek Katalog 610. Ergänzt: Nasenspitze.* Plaster cast molded from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek's *Buste af Augustus som ung,* accession number FKM/0/23. The figure's right nostril is a 19th-century repair. Photographed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Sigma EX 50mm lens, September,