Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)

Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This classically styled, crowned head is probably that of Constans, the youngest of the four sons of Constantine the Great. Constans, a devout Christian, who initially ruled part of the western half of the Empire, gained all the west in 340. He defeated the Franks and was the last emperor to visit Britain. Constans was killed before he was thirty by the usurper Magnentius in 350.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)Head of Emperor Constans (r. 337–50)

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.