A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM HEAD OF DIONYSUS
A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM HEAD OF DIONYSUS
A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM HEAD OF DIONYSUS
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A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM HEAD OF DIONYSUS
9 More
THE DEVOTED CLASSICIST: THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF A NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN
A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM HEAD OF DIONYSUS

CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN MARBLE TRIPLE-HEADED HERM HEAD OF DIONYSUS
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm.) high
Provenance
with Nicolas Landau (1887-1979), Paris; thence by descent.
with Michael Ward, New York, acquired from the above.
Art Market, New York, acquired from the above.
Antiquities, Christie’s, New York, 5 December 2005, lot 323.
Acquired by the current owner from the above.

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon
Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

Lot Essay

This captivating sculpture preserves three distinct depictions of Dionysus, each based on a Greek prototype from the Archaic and Classical periods. The Archaistic example depicts the god with a layered spade-shaped beard, angled moustache and two rows of tight curls surmounted by a crescentic diadem, whose ties fall onto the shoulders. A head early Classical in style portrays Dionysus with a pointed beard, full moustache, a fringe of vertical locks above the forehead and a thick wreath with a spiral wrap above, accented by rosettes at either end; long strands of hair and the wreath ties fall onto his shoulders. The late Classical style head displays a forked beard, long moustache, a crescentic diadem above a fillet of ivy and berries, with long tendrils of hair falling along the shoulders.

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 C. Gasparri, "Dionysos," LIMC, vol. III. For a Roman sculpture of complete herms combining Bacchus, Apollo and Mercury see no. 261 in C. Gasparri, "Dionysos/Bacchus," in LIMC, vol. III.

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