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Lot Essay
Comedic theatre, drawing heavily on the earlier Greek tradition, was a hugely popular form of entertainment in the Roman period. Images of the theatre, its actors and characters abounded across the empire, including on paintings and mosaics, and in the form of free-standing sculpture.
The distinctive fringed pallium gathered in a large roll across the waist has been suggested to be the costume of the 'Old Man', a stock figure of New Comedy (prevalent from 4th Century B.C.). However, the paucity of surviving complete figures wearing the mask of the 'Old Man' prevents surety in this identification. For more, see T. Webster, J. Green and A. Seeberg, Monuments Illustrating New Comedy, London, 1995, vol. 2, p. 375, nos 4XS 3a-c.
For a close parallel to the present lot, cf. a statuette of the Villa Albani collection, no. 647. For further complete statues of actors, cf. S. Reinach, Répertoire de la Statuaire Grecque et Romaine, vol. 1, Paris, 1906, p. 532-533, with nos 2224 and 2221E being most comparable.
The distinctive fringed pallium gathered in a large roll across the waist has been suggested to be the costume of the 'Old Man', a stock figure of New Comedy (prevalent from 4th Century B.C.). However, the paucity of surviving complete figures wearing the mask of the 'Old Man' prevents surety in this identification. For more, see T. Webster, J. Green and A. Seeberg, Monuments Illustrating New Comedy, London, 1995, vol. 2, p. 375, nos 4XS 3a-c.
For a close parallel to the present lot, cf. a statuette of the Villa Albani collection, no. 647. For further complete statues of actors, cf. S. Reinach, Répertoire de la Statuaire Grecque et Romaine, vol. 1, Paris, 1906, p. 532-533, with nos 2224 and 2221E being most comparable.