"Whether to call this style Roman or Hellenistic is an idle question. We do know, however, that it was not confined to Egypt, since it can be linked with some portrait miniatures on glass apparently done in Italy during the third century A.D. The finest of them is the medallion shown slightly enlarged in figure 251. Its power of characterization, superior to that of any Faiyum portrait, represents the same climax of Roman portraiture that produced the marble bust of Philippus the Arab (see fig. 238)." [not shown here]

from "History of Art" A survey of the Major Visual Arts from the Dawn of History to the Present Day by H.W. Janson Prentice-Hall & Abrams Third Printing August, 1963

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