ROMAN REPUBLIC, CIRCA MID 1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT BUST OF A MAN
ROMAN REPUBLIC, CIRCA MID 1ST CENTURY B.C.
Depicting an old man realistically detailed, with closely-cropped hair brushed forward in short waves, a small curl in front of each ear, deep wrinkles on his forehead above a furrowed brow which overhangs his deep-set eyes, a fan of wrinkles on the outer edge of each eye, his large aquiline nose slightly hooked, with deep naso-labial folds, a dimpled chin, and full fleshy lips, a small wart on his cheek just below his right ear lobe, with wrinkles along the outer edge of his left cheek, his head turned slightly to his left, creating an intricate web of wrinkles and folds on the underside of his chin and along his neck, with a prominent laryngeal notch; on a later pedestal base
13¾ in. (34.9 cm) high

Provenance

Earl of Lonsdale, Lowther Castle, Westmoreland.
Lowther Castle; Maple & Co., London, 29 April 1947, lot 2264 (as "Corbulo").
London Market, 1970s.
Florida Private Collection.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 13 June 2000, lot 304.

Literature

A. Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge, 1882, p. 499, no. 69 (catalogued as Julius Caesar).

Lot Essay

Portraiture during the Roman Republic is characterized by extreme "verism," that is, the sitter is portrayed exactly as he appeared, warts and all, with no idealizing. The tradition is based on the Roman practice of making a wax death mask which was displayed in the home for veneration of the ancestors. The portraits were also used during funerary processions. Gradually the wax masks were replaced by images in stone. Our portrait's extraordinary leathery face, complete with a wart on his right temple, is typical of the late Republic.

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