English: A second-century copper-alloy bust of Antinous, the Emperor Hadrian's alleged homosexual lover. The bust is a fitting from a piece of furniture or a chest. This is only the third known depiction of Hadrian's favourite from Britain; a high quality bust was discovered in Littlecote, Wiltshire (Walters and Henig, Britannia 1988, pp. 407-410; Henig 'The Art of Roman Britain, 1995, p. 71, ill. 39, and p. 70), and the second is was discovered in Capel St Mary, Suffolk and is recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database as ESS-B39770 (PAS Annual Report 2007, p. 79, no. 112; Britannia XXXIX, 2008, pp. 363-4). All three busts are comparable to an unprovenanced example set on a tripod now in Lyons Museum.

The Market Rasen bust depicts a bare-chested Antinous facing forward. The bust has a full head of hair depicted by swirls of three or four locks, with a neat fringe across the forehead. The hair flows to just beneath the chin on either side of the head, where it flicks outwards to form a mass of curls. The face is oval and Antinous is depicted gazing forwards, almost expressionless as noted on other representation of Antinous. The mouth is narrow and straight. Antinous is depicted with a broad neck and a muscular body with small breasts. The shoulders are well-built, rounded and taper to either side. The bust is hollow and on the reverse there is a large oval opening containing a rectangular block of iron.