A Limestone Portrait Head of a Man, Roman Republican, circa late 1st Century B.C.

his commanding face with wide mouth, fragmentary aquiline nose flanked by deep folds below the nostrils, large deep-set eyes with crow's feet, and furrowed brow, his thinning hair brushed forward in crescentic locks over the forehead and temples.

Louis Noguier (d. 1905), Béziers
Jean Dardé, Béziers, 1920s
French private collection, Béziers, by descent (Sotheby's, New York, December 10th, 2008, no. 48, illus.)

Émile Espérandieu, Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine, vol. IX, Paris, 1925, no. 6878, illus.
Adrien Blanchet, Carte archéologique de la Gaule romaine, vols. 8-10, Paris, 1941, p. 38, no. 16
Monique Clavel, Béziers et son territoire dans l'antiquité (Centre de recherches d'histoire ancienne, vol. 2), Paris, 1970, p. 620, note 3
Arachne, no. 38261

Surface weathered overall and grainy from prolonged exposure to the elements, side not shown in catalogue in much the same condition as side shown.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to Espérandieu (op. cit., p. 181) the present head was found locally ("provenance locale"), namely in or around Béziers, originally a Roman colony founded by Julius Caesar. From the early 20th century until the 2008 sale it was exposed to the elements in the garden of a 17th-century house in Béziers, mounted on a fast deteriorating plaster bust itself resting on a Gallo-Roman altar. From the same collection came the monumental acrolithic marble head of Zeus, sold at Sotheby's, New York, December 5th, 2007, no. 50.