Lot Essay
Judging from the closely curled hair, subnasal region, full lips and raised cheekbones of the present sitters, it would appear that they are of African descent. The gentleman probably succeeded in an official position within the Imperial administration, and the matron sports a fashionable Flavian honeycomb coiffure, popular from 1st Century A.D.
As busts in the Antique manner, or based upon Antique models, these sculptures belong to a series of portrait busts fashionable as interior decoration from the end of 16th Century in Rome. The enhancement of such busts with coloured marble, porphyry or alabaster, again is an element which developed from the Roman Baroque taste. With the 18th Century, the taste for such busts spread abroad with the Grand Tourists. Pairs or series of busts after the Antique became an important feature in the 18th Century connoisseur's house; they acted not only as highly decorative items, but also as indications of their owner's travelled and cultured outlook.
As busts in the Antique manner, or based upon Antique models, these sculptures belong to a series of portrait busts fashionable as interior decoration from the end of 16th Century in Rome. The enhancement of such busts with coloured marble, porphyry or alabaster, again is an element which developed from the Roman Baroque taste. With the 18th Century, the taste for such busts spread abroad with the Grand Tourists. Pairs or series of busts after the Antique became an important feature in the 18th Century connoisseur's house; they acted not only as highly decorative items, but also as indications of their owner's travelled and cultured outlook.