FLAVIAN PERIOD, CIRCA 80-100 A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT HEAD OF A MAN
FLAVIAN PERIOD, CIRCA 80-100 A.D.
22 in. (55.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Probably acquired by Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (1713-1795), Harewood House, West Yorkshire, during his Grand Tour in 1738; thence by continuous descent to George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (1923-2011), Harewood House, West Yorkshire.
Harewood: Collecting in the Royal Tradition, Christie's, London, 5 December 2012, lot 505.
with Ariadne Galleries, New York and London, acquired from the above (Ariadne Galleries, 2014, no. 4).
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2015.

Literature

D. Boschung and H. von Hesberg, Die antiken Skulpturen in Newby Hall sowie in anderen Sammlungen in Yorkshire, Wiesbaden, 2007, p. 120, no. Ha2, pls. 89, 4 and 91.
Arachne Online Database no. 1067348.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

This fine portrait of an unknown, youthful man is depicted with his head turned to his left. He has a pointed chin, a closed, bow-shaped mouth and a prominent nose. His wide, almond-shaped unarticulated eyes feature thick upper lids beneath arching brows. His smooth beard is indicated by short incised lines. The hair undulates in waves over the top of his head, with thick locks forming a fringe across his forehead; at the back, it is more summarily rendered.

This portrait is close in style, especially in the treatment of the hair, to another example in New York, no. 47 in P. Zanker, Roman Portraits: Sculptures in Stone and Bronze The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Zanker (op. cit., p. 47) suggests that the hair shows the influence of early portraits of the Emperor Domitian, such as the example in Palazzo dei Conservatori (no. 145 in D.E.E. Kleiner, Roman Sculpture).

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