The traditional identification of this portrait as Gordian I is uncertain; if correct, it was probably created about a decade before his accession to the throne. See K. Fittschen & P. Zanker (1985). Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom I: Kaiser- und Prinzenbildnisse, Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, pp. 123–124, no. 104, for a summary of opinions on the date and identification.