Lot 963
Marble Portrait of a Bearded, Middle-aged Man. Roman, 3rd century AD. Although small, the portrait is carefully crafted and well detailed. The individual appears advanced in his middle years, his features fleshy, but not fat. His skin seems to hang loose, with sharply grooved and sunken cheeks, along with a prominent worry crease across his forehead. His hair is arranged in short, small clusters, his beard cut short, and in tight curls. The portrait is in high relief to three-quarters in the round. Perhaps intended for display in a niche, the head's back is chiseled flat about in line where the ear should start. Losses to the nose and tip of chin, with usual rubbing and weathering to be expected, the recesses with attractive red-brown patina. Overall fine. Height: 5-1/2", on custom limestone base.
In spite of what the centuries have inflicted on this work, it remains a moving portrayal that lingers in one's memory. The man may even be one of Rome's besieged emperors of the late 3rd century. Such royal trappings as crowns and diadems don't always accompany an Imperial portrait, and so it can be difficult at times to distinguish between royal and non-royal. This beleaguered, angst-ridden air entered Imperial portraiture about the time of Philip I, and remained throughout the reign of Diocletian. Likewise it filtered into private depictions. The era, after all, was time of constant crisis and barbarian invasions, that saw repeated outbreaks of plague, failing economies, and the demise of the ruling emperor every few years (often by murder).
Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000.
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