Published / Exhibited Roman Marble Head - Bearded Man

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

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#143889
Condition Report: 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.