Lot 190
190
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A BOY
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A BOY
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A BOY
2 More
This lot is offered without reserve. THE PROPERTY OF A WEST COAST PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A BOY

SEVERAN PERIOD, CIRCA EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A BOY
SEVERAN PERIOD, CIRCA EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.
6 3/8 in. (16.1 cm.) high
Provenance
Antiquities, Sotheby's, London, 13-14 December 1990, lot 434.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 1992 (Art of the Ancient World, vol. VII, no. 48).
Antiquities, Christie’s, New York, 7 December 2000, lot 643.
Property of a West Coast Private Collector; Antiquities, Christie's, New York, 13 October 2020, lot 75.
Special notice
This lot is offered without reserve.
Sale room notice
Please note this lot is offered without reserve.

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon
Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist
+1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

This portrait head closely resembles one depicting the Emperor Varius Avitus Bassianus, known as Elagabulus, in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (see no. 12 in F. Johansen, Roman Portraits III). While the portrait in Copenhagen has fleshier cheeks and jowls than the current example, the lips, hairline and deeply-drilled eyes bear a considerable similarity, indicating that if not the future emperor himself, it can at least be dated to the same time period.

More from Antiquities

View All
View All