LOT 0118

Roman Marble Herm Boundary Marker

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.

12 3/8 in. (7.3 kg, 31.5 cm high).

A carved marble herm boundary marker carved in the round as the bust of an adult male wearing a conical cap and with a full beard; dorsal pillar terminating behind the head.

French collection, 1960s-early 2000s.
From an important Paris gallery, France.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11629-199364.

Possibly an architectural element or herm: herma (Ancient Greek: ἑρμῆς, usually called a 'herm' in English), is a sculptured stone block with a head and often a chest above an undecorated lower section on which male genitals may additionally be carved. From the Neolithic period onwards, in parts of Europe, divinities were worshipped in the form of either a heap of stones (cairn) or a wooden column. Piles of stones were created beside roads and at the borders of fields as they were cleared of pebbles, and religious respect was shown through the custom of each passer-by throwing a stone on the heap or offering a libation. In due course, the addition of a carved head (and phallus) to the column encouraged the belief that these monuments were especially favoured by divinities.