Bronze head of Emperor Hadrian, c.117-138 AD, found near the London Bridge in the River Thames in 1834 (P&E 1848.11-3.1). It would have originally come from a life-size bronze of the Emperor which dominated a public place - it might even have been a piece commemorating his visit to Britain in AD 122.

The working of bronze is unlikely to produce a prefect piece form a mould and blemished are inevitable. The neck of the statue's head has areas where re-working was required and also places were the wax pipes were attached to the piece to facilitate the lost-wax process. Most bronze pieces would have received further treatment to give them a consistent and pleasing colouring.