Amusing Roman Bronze Head of a Grotesque w/ Dome Cap

Roman, early Imperial Period, ca. 1st century CE. A finely preserved, cast-bronze head of a male grotesque with exaggerated facial features such as enormous ears with semicircular earrings, heavy-lidded eyes beneath deeply furrowed brows, and a bulbous aquiline nose above his overly puffy lips. He wears a domed cap atop his straight coiffure that causes his bangs to curl along his temples. His expressive countenance peers up and to the right, perhaps in a disgruntled manner towards someone audibly castigating his 'abnormalities.' The designation as a "grotesque" does not denote a revolting or otherwise off-putting presentation but rather one of veristic accuracy. Though some artists used the maladies and deformations of others to create exaggerated caricatures, others used such negatively perceived aspects of certain individuals as a means of expressing them in a true-to-life approach. Size: 1.4" W x 2.3" H (3.6 cm x 5.8 cm); 5.9" H (15 cm) on included custom stand.

For a strikingly similar example without a dome cap, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 97.22.6.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection, acquired in 2019; ex-Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, New York, USA; ex-private American collection; ex-private German collection; ex-Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Germany

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#154196
Condition Report: Head is adhered to metal column of display stand and cannot be removed. Restoration to nose and two small areas behind head, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines, and light adhesive residue along lower break line beneath bridge of nose. Abrasions and light encrustations to face, peripheries, top, and base, with light softening to some finer details. Light earthen deposits and wonderful patina throughout.