CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

細節

A ROMAN BRONZE COMEDIC ACTOR
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Originally a furniture finial, depicted seated, wearing the typical garb including a long-sleeved tunic fringed on the lower hem, tied with plaited rope below his paunchy belly, and laced shoes, his right arm lowered, his splayed hand atop a patterned cista surmounted by an open rectangular element, his left arm bent at the elbow, a scroll in his hand, his head angled slightly to his left, enveloped in a mask of the Old Man of Comedy, the mask with a wide-open megaphone-shaped aperture, the actor's own mouth and teeth visible, with a snub nose, deeply-recessed eyes, exaggerated arching brows and a creased forehead, the hair combed back in a pompadour-like manner (speira), on a rectangular integral altar with leaves incised on the front, the back of the actor and the base open to the interior
6 ¾ in. (17.2 cm.) high

來源

with Boris Mussienko, Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
William Froelich, New York, acquired from the above, 1982.
with Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, acquired from the above, 1995.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2007.

拍品專文

One of the chief forms of entertainment during the Roman period was comedic theater. Older Greek plays, especially the New Comedy of Menander and his contemporaries of the 4th century B.C., were particularly popular and Roman playwrights drew heavily from the genre. Among the stock figures from New Comedy was the "Comic Slave," characterized by, protruding eyes with both eyebrows drawn up, and a roll of hair over the forehead. A repeated scenario of New Comedy involves the slave seeking refuge atop an altar to avoid the looming punishment for the mischievous acts he performed earlier in the play, the idea being that the god of the altar would protect him while within their sacred territory. For a related bronze seated actor see no. 87 in M.L. Hart, ed., The Art of Ancient Greek Theater.

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

拍品專文

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