ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF A BEARDED MAN

ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF A BEARDED MAN

Late Hadrianic to early Severian period, Ca. AD 130 - 220.
A handsome head of carved marble of a veristic presentation depicting a middle-aged man with a wavy beard and full mustache. The facial features include high cheekbones protruding beneath the sullen, heavy-lidded eyes, deep nasolabial folds, and carefully-modeled pouches beneath the eyes. The incised forehead wrinkles constitute the man's age. He has short, curly hair neatly arranged joining to his finely sculpted beard. The piercing pupils gaze up and imbue the head with a dramatic presentation. A superb sculpture, with sophisticated technique, and an adherence to realism. The third century saw a trend in veristic portraiture that was perhaps a reaction to the unstable political climate, with the rapid ascension and declines of various "soldier-emperors." For similar see: Christie's, Live Auction 1863, Antiquities, Lot. 40. This piece is accompanied by a historical report from Alessandro Neri, an international Cultural Heritage expert based in Florence, Italy.
Size: 300mm x 185mm; Weight: 14.59kg
Provenance: Property of a London gentleman; Ex. French collection, Paris, Parisian Gallery, 1970-90. This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter.