A Roman fragmentary marble male portrait head
Late Republican Period, circa mid-late 1st Century B.C.
Carved veristically, the mature patrician represented balding, his face deeply-lined with furrowed brow, with heavy-rimmed eyes with drilled inner canthi, aquiline nose and fleshy jowls, the down-turned mouth firmly set, 24.1cm high注脚Provenance:
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 18 June 1991, lot 140.
with Merrin Gallery, New York.
Private collection, USA, acquired from the above in 1991.

The 'warts and all' veristic style is believed to have developed from the wax death masks used in Roman funeral processions and displayed in the atrium of patrician homes. It became popular during the late Republican period due to the emphasis placed on the importance of revering one's ancestors, combined with the power of senior statesmen at a time when political rivalries were rife.

For another fleshy portrayal of an ageing bald man, see M. Comstock and C. Vermeule, Sculpture in Stone: The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, 1976, no. 321.