LOT 0162

'The Kenzo' Roman Marble Head of the Philosopher Hermarchus

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

9 in. (2.34 kg total, 22.8 cm high including stand).

A finely carved marble portrait head of a middle-aged bearded male, possibly Hermarchus, with short, softly modelled wavy hair, deep-set and defined eyes, the lips almost hidden among the details of the beard; the facial expression appears stern but thoughtful, perhaps derived from the tradition of Roman Imperial portraiture; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Kenzo collection, the late fashion designer, acquired in the early 1980s.
Ex French private collection.
Charles Ede, 12 June 2008.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13436-262427.

Greek and Roman sculpture in stone 400 BC – AD 300, Charles Ede Ltd 2007, no 9; Martha Weber, 'Überlegungen zum Eikon des Platon von Silanion,' Thetis, vol.19, 2012, p.26, note 37, fig.9a.

Cf. Di Cesare, R., ‘Ritratti di intellettuali tra mondo greco e romano,’ in La Rocca, E., Parisi Presicce, C., Lo Monaco, A., Ritratti. Le tante facce del potere, Roma Musei Capitolini 10 marzo- 25 settembre 2011, Roma 2011, pp. 93-107; Weber, M., 'Überlegungen zum Eikon des Platon von Silanion,' in Thetis, vol.19, 2012, p.26, note 37, fig.9a; Mastronuzzi, G., ‘Immagini di poeti e filosofi della Magna Grecia,’ in Quaderni di “Atene e Roma”, Pubblicazione dell’Associazione Italiana di Cultura Classica, 5; Capasso, M., Cinque incontri sulla Cultura Classica, Lecce 2015, pp. 55-70.

The philosopher represented here must have been very important, and it can be assumed we can recognise one of the valuable copies, known in different variants, of the portrait of Hermarchus, successor of Epicurus at the head of the Epicurean School, who lived at Mytilene between 325 and 250 B.C., for its similarity with the portrait of the same philosopher at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (inv. no.2689).