A Roman marble portrait head of a young man
Mid 3rd Century A.D.
Depicted with a closely cropped beard and moustache, with a relaxed face and level gaze, his large eyes with upraised irises and pierced pupils, his eyebrows rendered finely above, his hair elaborately carved and drilled with thick deep-set curls, each individually rendered, 10½in. (26.7cm.) high, nose and some areas chipped, mounted
Depicted with a closely cropped beard and moustache, with a relaxed face and level gaze, his large eyes with upraised irises and pierced pupils, his eyebrows rendered finely above, his hair elaborately carved and drilled with thick deep-set curls, each individually rendered, 10½in. (26.7cm.) high, nose and some areas chipped, mounted
Sold for
£56,400
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance:
Formerly the Property of Gawain McKinley acquired before May 1996
Literature:
This is a particularly fine head, dating from a period from which little sculpture of this quality remains. The 'bean-shaped' carving of the pupils is typical of Severan portraiture, and the closely cropped beard is a feature popularised by the soldier-emperors who ruled after the last of the Severan emperors (circa 235 A.D. onwards). Cf. Roman Portraits in the Getty Museum, (Malibu 1981), pp.108-110, no. 89-90
Category: Antiquities
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