A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM OF BACCHUS

CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM OF BACCHUS
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
Each head based on a Greek prototype, one Archaistic, with a layered spade-shaped beard, angled moustache and two rows of tight curls framing the forehead, a crescentic diadem above, the ties falling to the shoulders, one early Classical in style, with a pointed beard and full moustache, a fringe of vertical locks above the forehead, a thick wreath with a spiral wrap above, rosettes at either end, with long strands of hair descending below, the wreath ties falling to the shoulders, and another later Classical in style, with a forked beard and long moustache, a crescentic diadem above a fillet of ivy and berries, with long tendrils falling to the shoulders
8½ in. (21.6 cm.) high

Provenance

French Private Collection.
Nicholas Landau (1887-1979), Paris.

Lot Essay

Although triple-headed herms are known, the present example may be unique in its display of three distinct "antique" versions of the same divinity. For a late Hellenistic triple herm combining heads of Dionysos, Demeter and Kore see no. 535 in Gasparri, "Dionysos," in LIMC. For a Roman sculpture of complete herms combining Bacchus, Apollo and Mercury see no. 261 in Gasparri, "Dionysos/Bacchus," in LIMC.

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