Over-Life-Size Marble Portrait of an Oriental Ruler

Culture: Roman

Period: 3rd century A.D.

Material: Marble

Dimensions: 47 cm high; 61 cm high with the base

Price: 24 000 Euro

Ref: 3765

Provenance: Acquired in 1959 from The Harlow Art Trust, Harlow, England. Published in 2005 in: Danielle Olson “Sculpture in Harlow”, p. 19. Subsequently sold at Bonhams Auction London, on 26 October 2007, lot 181. Most recently returned to an English private collection. Accompanied by a copy of the publication.

Condition: Unrestored and with a powerful expression. Chipping, particularly on the nose and the rim of the Phrygian cap. Signs of weathering as shown in the photos. The 19th-century base is also chipped but stable.

Description: An expressive, over-life-size marble portrait of an oriental ruler wearing a Phrygian cap. The head, slightly tilted to the left, displays the determined expression of a leader. The gaze, with alert eyes, engraved pupils and irises, is directed straight ahead, as if fixed into the distance. The closed mouth with its thin lips radiates dignity and authority. The oriental figure, perhaps an Armenian king, wears a neatly trimmed short beard. His thick hair emerges from beneath the Phrygian cap, covering the forehead and temples. At the back, it falls to shoulder length down his neck. The head is published in: Danielle Olson “Sculpture in Harlow”, The Harlow Art Trust 2005, p. 19. See for the type, a closely comparable portrait of an Armenian ruler wearing a Phrygian cap in the Vatican Museum, published in the database of the German Archaeological Institute and the University of Cologne (Arachne) with the Arachne-ID 1095110. The head is mounted on a later bust with a 19th-century base.