A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF APOLLO

CIRCA MID 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF APOLLO
CIRCA MID 2ND CENTURY A.D.
Of "Kassel Apollo" type, thought to be based on a prototype by Pheidias, circa 450 B.C., the god depicted with a long angular face, the rounded chin protruding, the fleshy lips slightly parted revealing the teeth, with prominent cheekbones and a ridged brow, the large almond-shaped eyes with thick lids, the pupils and irises articulated, the center-parted hair brushed forward and bound in a fillet, with a mass of deeply-drilled wild tresses framing his face, the individual locks curling at their ends, a preserved length of hair curving behind his left ear
11¼ in. (28.6 cm.) high

Provenance

M. Borowzova Collection, Switzerland, 1940-1991.

Literature

"Apollon und Athena - Von der römischen Kopie zum griechischen Original," in Staatliche Museen Kassel Antikensammlung, Kassel, 1993, fig. 7.

Exhibited

Staatliche Museen Kassel, 10 July 1992 - 28 December 1994.

Sale room notice

Exhibited:
Staatliche Museen Kassel, 10 July 1992 - 28 December 1994.
Literature:
"Apollon und Athena - Von der römischen Kopie zum griechischen Original," in Staatliche Museen Kassel Antikensammlung, Kassel, 1993, fig. 7.

Lot Essay

The "Kassel Apollo" type is known from numerous Roman copies and is named for a full figure of the god once holding a laurel branch and a bow, now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Kassel, found near Nettuno, Italy, and purchased by Count Frederick II in 1776-1777 from the Conti Collection in Rome.

Ridgway notes of the type (The Severe Style in Greek Sculpture, p. 37) that "traces of the Severe style are still visible in the heavy face, the fairly large eyes, and especially the drilled centers of the short curls massed over the forehead." For the Kassel Apollo see also no. 295 in Lambrinudakis, et al., "Apollon" in LIMC.

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