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Lot Essay
D.E.E. Kleiner (Roman Sculpture, p. 208) writes that portraits of the Emperor Trajan "are of considerable interest because--if Augustus was the eternal youth--Trajan was the ageless adult." This agelessness clearly influenced private portraiture from the Trajanic era as seen in the present example. The face is unlined yet mature, with the straight locks brushed forward onto the forehead in a style popularized by the emperor.
This particular portrait head is accompanied by a label under the neck reading "Collezione Baron Arturo Berlingieri." The Baron was a member of the Italian aristocracy who became notable in the United States because of his brief marriage to the Chicago pharmaceutical heiress, Merry Fehrney. After only six weeks of marriage, the two went through a vicious divorce battle covered by the Chicago Tribune. In an article dated to January 28th, 1938, the Baron was quoted saying that due to the divorce proceedings, "My reputation in Italy has been seriously hurt. Here I left Italy to be married and have to go back without a wife. They will laugh. Besides, I do not think I should come from Italy to pay for Ms. Fahrney's $37 a day suite at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. She did not support me--I would not say that." Merry Fehrney went on to marry five more times after she divorced the Baron, including an ill fated union with haute couture designer Oleg Kassini. The Baron's former home in Rome, the Villinia Berlingieri, is now the embassy of Saudi Arabia.
This particular portrait head is accompanied by a label under the neck reading "Collezione Baron Arturo Berlingieri." The Baron was a member of the Italian aristocracy who became notable in the United States because of his brief marriage to the Chicago pharmaceutical heiress, Merry Fehrney. After only six weeks of marriage, the two went through a vicious divorce battle covered by the Chicago Tribune. In an article dated to January 28th, 1938, the Baron was quoted saying that due to the divorce proceedings, "My reputation in Italy has been seriously hurt. Here I left Italy to be married and have to go back without a wife. They will laugh. Besides, I do not think I should come from Italy to pay for Ms. Fahrney's $37 a day suite at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. She did not support me--I would not say that." Merry Fehrney went on to marry five more times after she divorced the Baron, including an ill fated union with haute couture designer Oleg Kassini. The Baron's former home in Rome, the Villinia Berlingieri, is now the embassy of Saudi Arabia.