Lot 61
61
A ROMAN BLUE CHALCEDONY PORTRAIT BUST OF A MAN
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION
A ROMAN BLUE CHALCEDONY PORTRAIT BUST OF A MAN

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN BLUE CHALCEDONY PORTRAIT BUST OF A MAN
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
2 3⁄8 in. (6 cm.) high
Provenance
Antiquities, Sotheby’s, London, 9-10 July 1984, lot 232.
Private Collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above.
with The Merrin Gallery, New York.
Private Collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above, 1987; thence by descent to the current owner.
Literature
D. Del Bufalo, Precious Portraits: Small Precious Stone Sculptures of Imperial Rome, Turin, 2020, p. 100, no. 177.

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Lot Essay

Small-scale sculpture in precious materials like chalcedony, agate, jasper and rock crystal (all forms of cryptocrystalline quartz) was popular during the Roman Imperial period. Depending on the subject, these small luxurious works of art could have religious value when used in household shrines, serve as symbols of propaganda when set in imperial crowns or scepters, or, perhaps most common, demonstrate status and wealth when used in domestic contexts, such as inlays in furniture. For other related busts of boys and young men in similar semi-precious materials, see Del Bufalo, op. cit., nos. 90, 91, 110, 187 and 193.

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