Published / Exhibited Roman Marble Head - Bearded Man

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Oct 7, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-10-07 10:00:00 2021-10-07 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-7537
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• Lot Description
  Roman, Imperial Period, ca. mid-3rd century CE. A handsome head carved from pale-yellow marble of a veristic presentation depicting a middle-aged man with a wavy beard and full mustache. High cheek bones protruding beneath sullen, heavy-lidded eyes and bushy brows, deep nasolabial folds, a contoured nasal bone, carefully-modeled pouches beneath the eyes, and incised forehead wrinkles constitute the man's aged gaunt visage, and his puffy coiffure is neatly arranged with a radiating starburst arrangement just above the center of the forehead. The piercing pupils which gaze up and to the right imbue the head with a dramatic presentation, perhaps signifies his yearning for better times than were experienced in the tumultuous reign of the emperor Gallienus during the mid-3rd century CE. Size: 7.8" W x 11.5" H (19.8 cm x 29.2 cm); 17.2" H (43.7 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  Classical Greeks and the Romans who came after them honored notable individuals by sculpting them in marble, often with the intention of placing the sculpture at their tombs. While the Greeks frequently portrayed their subjects as idealized and youthful, the Romans focused more on true physical characteristics. Their attention to details of dress, countenance, and coiffure indicated their subjects' social and political statuses. The realistic proportions of this face suggest that the sculptor revered mathematically-based proportions in his creations, much like the revered Greek sculptor Polykleitos who purportedly exclaimed, "Perfection comes about little by little through many numbers." Notice the attention to even the smallest details, i.e., the precise delineation of each lock of hair on the beard as well as the fine facial contours around the mouth and cheeks.
  
  Published in "Reflections of the Past: A Selection of Objects from the Ancient World." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2001, fig. 37.
  
  Also published in: Jucker, Hans and Dietrich Willers. "Gesichter: Griechische Und Romische Bildnisse Aus Schweizer Besitz." Bern, 1982, pp. 200-201, no. 84.
  
  Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010; ex-Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London (July 8, 1991, lot 268); ex-private Swiss collection, acquired prior to 1981; exhibited at the Basel Antikenmuseum and Sammlung Ludwig from 1981-1982; exhibited at the "Gesichter: Griechische Und Romische Bildnisse Aus Schweizer Besitz" exhibition, Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern, November 6, 1982 to February 6, 1983
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #143889

  Condition

  This is a head from a larger figure. Professional restoration to several areas including nose, mouth, eyes, brows, and forehead, with resurfacing and overpainting atop new material. Loss to original nose and parts of both ears, abrasions to coiffure, face, and neck, with light encrustations within recessed areas, and minor softening to some finer details. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Drilled through neck for mounting.
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