Details

LOT 0133

Roman Marble Helmetted and Cuirassed Bust of Mars, the God of War

LATE 4TH CENTURY A.D.

27 in. (45.2 kg, 68.5 cm).

His head turned slightly to the right, calm and idealised facial expression with heavy-lidded eyes defined by incised irises and drilled, crescent-shaped pupils, and a neatly trimmed beard; his wavy hair crowned by a Corinthian helmet, pushed back high on the forehead; wearing a cuirass decorated at the centre with a small gorgoneion, and a chlamys secured by a brooch on the left shoulder; mounted on a later variegated stone socle.

Provenance

European private collection, 18th century (based on the restoration techniques).
Private collection, France, acquired on the Marseilles art market in the late 1960s.
Sotheby's, London, 13th June 2016, no.18.
UK collection, acquired from the above auction.
Sotheby's, Ancient Marbles: Classical Sculpture and Works of Art, 3-9 July 2020, no.30.

Accompanied by copies of the relevant Sotheby's 2016 catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13115-249591.

Literature

The specific form of eye-markings and the inexpressive face are reminiscent of a female head in the Vatican, Vorster, C., Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, vol.127/28, 2012/13, p.421ff., fig.22, which is dated to the late 4th century A.D. The fact that the back of our bust was apparently hollowed out in modern times suggests that it was once part of a tondo, cf. a tondo with cuirassed bust from Aquileia: LIMC, vol.2, p.522, no.140, pl.393; for another Late-Antique tondi see Vorster, op. cit., pp. 447ff. The bust represents the Roman god Mars, cf. the statue of Mars Ultor: LIMC, vol.2, p.515, no.24a, pl.384.

Footnotes

The sculpture has undergone both ancient and modern intervention. The back has been hollowed out in modern times, indicating that it was originally part of a tondo. Restoration is visible to the tip of the nose, the lower edges of the helmet’s cheek-pieces, and a small area of drapery. There is minor reworking to parts of the drapery folds and the brooch, as well as light retouching to the proper right corner of the lower lip and possibly the right side of the moustache. A small area of fill is also present on the restored nose of the helmet.

In style, the bust belongs to the Late Antique tradition of ideal sculpture. The simplified facial features and distinctive eye treatment closely recall a comparable head in the Vatican, dated to the late 4th century AD. The military dress and iconography strongly suggest that the figure represents the Roman god Mars, comparable to known images of Mars Ultor. The Corinthian helmet, restored with a sculpted nose-guard, reflects an 18th-century restoration practice well attested in Roman collections, including examples from the Villa Albani.