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LOT 0131
Life-Size Roman Bearded Head of the Greek God Hermes
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
20 1/2 in. (32.2 kg total, 52 cm high including stand).
With densely curled hair, stern facial expression beneath a broad brow, luxuriant curled beard falling in waves and cut square at the lower edge, a Roman copy after a 5th century B.C. Greek original; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenancewith Chaucer Fine Arts Ltd, 1980s.
English private collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11615-199747.
Cf. Capuis L., Alkamenes, Fonti storiche e archeologiche, Firenze, 1968, p.48 ss.; Traversari G., Sculture del V-IV secolo a.C. del Museo Archeologico di Venezia, Venezia, 1973, pp.20-23, n.5; Faedo L., in Camposanto Monumentale di Pisa, Le Antichità II, a cura di Salvatore Settis, pp.158-162, n.76; Bonanome, D., in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Le Collezioni, a cura di Carlo Gasparri e Rita Paris, Milano, 2013, p.269, n.194; Giobbe, C., in Palazzo Altemps, Le Collezioni, p.50; Gagliano, E., Hermes Propylaios (e le Charites) sull’Acropoli di Atene in Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente, vol. XCII, Serie III, 14, 2014, pp.33-68.
FootnotesThis belongs to a type of archaic sculpture which can be traced back to the original ‘Hermes Propylaios’ by the Attic sculptor Alkamenes, a pupil of Phidias, active in the second half of the 5th century B.C. According to some theories, such depictions of Hermes (Hermae) were created for the Propylaea of the Acropolis of Athens, Hermes being the patron deity of doors and entrances. According to others, this type of bearded Hermes was located within the Acropolis as a devotional figure.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0131
Life-Size Roman Bearded Head of the Greek God Hermes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £33,800
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Roman Bronze Zebu Statuette
3rd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Hollow-formed in reclining pose with the legs folded beneath the body, tail curled over the rump, hump to rear of neck. 61 grams, 47 mm
Acquired in 1992. Private collection, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Roman Carnelian Gemstone of Asclepius, the God of Medicine with Snake
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Intaglio facing bust of the god Asclepius with serpent in one hand; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.64 grams, 14 mm
Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. -
Late Roman Ring with Warrior
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
With a slender D-section hoop and a lentoid bezel with a stylised figure holding a spear. 5.19 grams, 24.17 mm overall, 19.97 mm internal diameter (approximate size British U, USA 10, Europe 22.52, Japan 21)
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
This ring belongs to a particular category of Late Roman rings which have a thin and flat sectioned shank with variously decorated bezels, in this case, probably a reference to the iconography of the god Mars.
