The Romans made hundreds of copies of statues of the emperors, spreading them around the whole Empire, from Britain to Jordan. Artists made new portraits of the emperors to celebrate important moments of their careers, like accession to the throne or important military victories.

Copies of the original portrait were sent to major centers around the empire, from which additional copies were produced for distribution to smaller cities and towns.

Greek and Roman sculptors carved stone using very simple tools.

First, the sculptor used a hammer and pointed punch to shape the marble block, chipping large flakes of stone away. The head of this unfinished Roman copy of a Greek warrior still bears the pockmarks made by a point chisel.

The sculptor then used a claw chisel to refine the shape.

The teeth of the claw chisel have left parallel scars on the torso of the same statue.

To make a copy of an original statue, the artist took very careful measurements of key points on the surface of the original. When transferred to the copy, he marked these points with raised bosses, not yet removed from this one.

After marking the key points on the copy, the sculptor carved the marble with more delicate tools, like flat chisels, files, and rasps.

Fleshy surfaces could be smoothed and polished using abrasives, like powdered emery.

Drills were used to cut lines of tiny starter holes where the sculptor wished to carve curves and deep grooves.

The bits of marble between the holes could then be chiseled away carefully to create sweeping curves.

Using these simple techniques, Roman sculptors were able to produce some of the most sophisticated portraits ever carved.