Despite the damaged surface, many details of the features can still be seen. The eyes are deeply inset, especially at the corners. The brows are heavy. Although the nose is missing, the base of the nostrils can still be seen and also the folds from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth. The strong character of the mouth is still to be seen in the nearly horizontal groove, turned slightly downwards at the corners. The chin is heavy, with a very fleshy area below it. The forehead has incised furrows, and a protruding bony upper region. The hair is brushed away from the high forehead, making a broad shallow clump in the center. On his l. side it bulges out in the fashion typical for Julio-Claudians. The hair also lay low on the neck. A curl comes forward onto the l. cheek, and there seems to be a trace of one on the r. as well.

Although the identification of this head is uncertain, the bulging hair near the temples and the minimal use of the drill suggest a dating in the Julio-Claudian period. Augustus is ruled out because of the high forehead and the hair brushed away from it, and by the tight straight mouth which could not be his. However, the fact that the head is over-lifesize does suggest some Imperial personage. There are a number of features which would link it to portraits of Tiberius, such as the wide jawbone, the heavy double chin, the straight thin mouth, slightly fleshy at the corners, the crease from outer nostrils toward the mouth, and the hairstyle emphasizing the bulbous shape. On the other hand, the hairline is too high, and the eyebrows not dominating enough, for this to be a portrait of Tiberius himself. One might compare a “Claudio-Neronian” portrait for general similarity of type. The Sardis head, then, may be a prince from the later Julio-Claudian period.