CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF A YOUNG MAN
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
Perhaps a god or athlete, originally standing in contropposto with his weight on his left leg, with a slight thrust in the left hip, the right leg originally advanced, the left shoulder slightly lowered, together causing a subtle S-curve in the torso, his youthful musculature sensitively sculpted, the genitalia preserved with no pubic hair, the navel a circular hollow, a prominent spinal ridge descending from between the shoulder blades, the remains of a strut at the side of the left buttock, a mortise for a pin at the neck for attachment
21¾ in. (55.2 cm.) high

Provenance

with Donati Arte Classica, Lugano, circa 1980.

Lot Essay

The form and details of the present example recall the Westmacott Ephebe, now in the British Museum, which is considered a Roman copy of a late 5th century B.C. original by Polykleitos. The type served as the inspiration for numerous variants during the Roman Period, with the addition of differing attributes changing the subject. See for example the figure of Mercury, nos. 103-109, pp. 585-590 in Beck, Bol and Bückling, Polyklet, der Bildhauer der griechischen Klassik.

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