The Head of Eutropius is a mid-5th century marble portrait bust. It was discovered in Ephesus (modern-day Selçuk, Turkey) and is currently held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria (inventory number 1880).
The subject is identified as Eutropios (Latinized as Eutropius) through an inscription on a console found in close proximity to the bust. This Eutropios was a native of Ephesus who supervised the construction of a marble street in the city, on which the bust was found. His role suggests he likely served as a proconsul Asiae (the Roman governor of the province of Asia). He is not to be confused with the historian and official Eutropius (author of the Breviarium), who was also a proconsul of Asia but was born in the West, nor with the eunuch consul Eutropius of 399.
The bust is carved from marble and measures 30.5 cm in height. Stylistically, it belongs to workshops in Ephesus or Aphrodisias, which in the 5th century produced intensely expressive works influenced by the classicising style of Theodosian art. The piece also represents a late phase in the tradition of bearded philosopher portraits, a motif originating in 5th-century BC Athens, characterized by a fixed, intense gaze and wavy flowing hair. Based on its excavation context and style, the bust dates to between approximately 425 and 450 AD.
