From the time of the establishment of the Empire by Augustus, and throughout the Imperial period, not even the smallest town could be without its statue of the reigning emperor. These portraits were produced by local workshops working from an original design.

The sculpted portrait of the emperor ensured the perpetuity of the political function and was a testimony of his presence in those places in which he was unable to be in person. According to certain traditions, the effigy emanated a power as great as that of the emperor himself. It was considered to be the protector of the community and, by extension, of the Empire as a whole.

The monarch was either shown alone or in the company of the royal family, in what constituted a complex collection of sculptures containing both the male members of the family as well as the empresses and princesses, all of whom were important in perpetuating the concept of dynasty.

These statutes were dedicated by public bodies, corporations or private citizens who showed in this way their loyalty or gratitude for favours they had received or hoped to receive.

In Tarragona there were Imperial sculptures from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The most numerous were of the Julio-Claudian family. None has been preserved of the Flavian emperors, although there is at least one portrait of each of the emperors of the 2nd century.