- 52
A Marble Portrait Bust of a Man, circa late 1st Century A.D.
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description
- A Marble Portrait Bust of a Man
- Marble
- Total height 40 cm. 15 3/4 in.; height of head 23 cm. 9 1/16 in.
turned to his right, his lively and asymmetrical face with dimpled chin, knobby nose flanked by deep folds, eyes with drilled inner canthi, and knitted and furrowed brow, a prominent wart next to his right eye, the thick tussled hair brushed forward from the crown, his draped shoulders emerging from a circular plinth and fastened with a disk brooch decorated with incised lines radiating from a small circle, the back of the bust carved roughly flat; no restorations, portions of three corroded iron tenons remaining in back.
Provenance
Piero Tozzi, New York, acquired prior to the gallery's closing in
New York private collection, by descent (Sotheby's, New York, European Works of Art, January 12th-15th, 1991, no. 48, illus. (as Italian, 17th Century)
acquired by the present owner at the above sale
New York private collection, by descent (Sotheby's, New York, European Works of Art, January 12th-15th, 1991, no. 48, illus. (as Italian, 17th Century)
acquired by the present owner at the above sale
Condition
Root-marks on bust and neck, stress crack across bottom of drapery, face lightly cleaned, top of proper left ear chipped.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Cf. a portrait in the Torlonia Collection (P. Cain, Männerbildnisse neronisch-flavischer Zeit, 1993, p. 219f., no. 93, pl. 32f.), dated in the late Flavian period. Many portraits with the so-called 'annuli-hairdressing', which were studied by Cain (op. cit, pp. 70ff.), have a realistic, lively face, e.g. busts in the Louvre (K. de Kersauson, Musée du Louvre. Catalogue des portraits romains, vol. 2, 1996, p. 64f., no. 23), or in Copenhagen (F. Johansen, Catalogue Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Roman Portraits, vol. 2, p. 90f., no. 32).