Lot 64
64
A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF DIONYSUS
A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF DIONYSUS
A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF DIONYSUS
A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF DIONYSUS
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PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION
A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF DIONYSUS

CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF DIONYSUS
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
8 1⁄8 in. (20.5 cm.) high
Provenance
Documented in a photograph by Salomon Reinach (1858-1932) preserved in the Fonds Reinach, Institut national d'histoire de l'art, Paris.
Private Collection, France, acquired circa 1950s; thence by descent.
The Property of a Gentleman; Antiquities, Christie’s, London, 2 April 2014, lot 95.

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Lot Essay

This finely carved head of Dionysus depicts the god of wine wearing an ivy wreath in his center-parted, wavy hair, which is arranged in an elaborate topknot and chignon, with grape clusters descending over his ears. His youthful face has a small mouth with parted lips and heavy-lidded eyes with drilled pupils. The head turns to his right on a slender, angled neck. For related depictions of Dionysus, assigned to the so-called Richelieu type, see nos. 122a, d in C. Gasparri, “Dionysos,” LIMC, vol. III.

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