The original of this work was unearthed in Pompeii in 1875. It formerly stood, with a companion piece now lost, in the atrium of the subject's house. It is generally believed to be a portrait of the banker Lucius Caecilius Jucundus although some historians argue that it may be of his father L. Caecitius Felix. This is doubted on stylistic grounds as it is thought to be a mid-century piece rather than being created in an earlier Augustinian style that would have been popular in L. Caecilius Felix's time. The work was originally mounted on a herm shaft inscribed: 'Genio L(uci) nostri/ Felix L(ibertus). (To the genius of our Lucius from the freedman Felix.)' Typical of Roman portrait busts, the work appears to be an accurate likeness of the subject, lacking the idealisation that characterized earlier Greek works.