Green basanite bust of Germanicus Caesar

Happy Easter! Here's a bit of Christian history... This bust was part of the British Museum's "Egypt: faith after the pharaohs" exhibition and is now back on general display. Egypt, about AD 14–20. "This statue of Germanicus, great-nephew of the emperor Augustus, was probably made around AD 19, shortly after a visit to Egypt. Years later someone inscribed a cross on his forehead and it was hacked across the nose, ear and neck. We don’t know why the cross was added – perhaps to neutralise spirits thought to dwell in images, to ‘Christianise’ Germanicus, or to mark him as a ‘slave of God’ – as some Christians marked themselves." Full record: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=34673001&objectId=465554&partId=1