A Roman giallo antico marble herm head of Dionysus

A Roman giallo antico marble herm head of Dionysus
Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.
The wavy hair dressed with a fillet and garlanded with berries, the youthful face with rimmed recessed eyes and slightly parted lips, 15.5cm high

Provenance:
with J.-P. Mariaud de Serres, Paris.
Private collection, France, acquired from the above 13 September 1996.

Giallo antico was quarried by the ancient Romans at Chemtou (Simitthus) in North Africa. The yellow marble was considered to be precious and opulent, and was widely used during the 1st-2nd Centuries in both the Imperial and private households. For a herm of Dionysus in giallo antico cf. M De Nuccio & L Ungaro, i marmami colorati della Roma imperiale, Rome, 2002, p.378, fig.79, Museo Nazionale Romano, Roma, inv. n. 4252.