Lot Essay
For marble oscilla of theater masks in similar style see nos. 64-65 in Ward-Perkins and Claridge, Pompeii AD 79.
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CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Details
A ROMAN BRONZE THEATER MASK
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Depicting a heroine of Tragedy, her oval face with a pointed chin, the mouth open, the full bottom lip turned out, her upper lips sharply outlined, the large almond-shaped eyes articulated, the gaze directed upward, with sharp upper and lower lids and deep inner canthi, the undulating eyebrows hooking outward from the bridge of her nose, her hair arranged in individual curls along her forehead, bound at the top of her head in a fillet and falling in three curls on each side of her face, perforated for suspension within the curls above the face and below the chin, two iron pins on the reverse for attachment
7¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Depicting a heroine of Tragedy, her oval face with a pointed chin, the mouth open, the full bottom lip turned out, her upper lips sharply outlined, the large almond-shaped eyes articulated, the gaze directed upward, with sharp upper and lower lids and deep inner canthi, the undulating eyebrows hooking outward from the bridge of her nose, her hair arranged in individual curls along her forehead, bound at the top of her head in a fillet and falling in three curls on each side of her face, perforated for suspension within the curls above the face and below the chin, two iron pins on the reverse for attachment
7¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high
Provenance
American Private Collection, 1980s.