Gallo-Roman male portrait head, marble, Roman Empire, Province of Gaul (area of modern France), 1st-3rd century after Chr.
2800,00 zł
A unique example of provincial stone sculpture from the heyday of the Roman Empire. Executed in white marble, the head depicts an individualized male portrait, a textbook example of the fusion of official Roman realism with local Gallic artistic expression. The face is characterized by a crude, geometric synthesis of form. A long, straight nose connects directly to a well-defined, severe eyebrow arch (the so-called Greco-Roman profile), giving the whole a monumental expression. The large, almond-shaped, convex eyes have no cut eyelids or pupils, which firmly places the object in post-Celtic sculptural traditions and the local votive art. The sculpture directly alludes to austere, hieratic representations of deities and heroes from the Celtic tradition.
The object is set on a contemporary metal arbor and pedestal of gray veined marble.
Dimensions: 15 cm (height) x 6 cm (width) x 8.5 cm (depth); with pedestal: 19 cm (height) x 7 cm (width) x 8.5 cm (depth)
Weight: 1357 g
1 in stock
The key technological asset of the work is the deep drill holes preserved in the hair part and in the auricle, made with a Roman trepan (mechanical auger). This technique, widely introduced in Roman sculpture since the Flavian and Antonine dynasties, was used to achieve contrasting chiaroscuro ( chiaroscuro). Leaving the structural points of the auger visible, as well as the simplified, linear and schematic rhythm of the curls flowing towards the occiput, are features that clearly define an excellent provincial (Gallo-Roman) workshop, where classical Roman craftsmanship collided with the decorative, synthetic sensibility of sculptors with local Celtic roots.
| Weight | 1,357 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 15 × 6 × 8,5 cm |
| Type |
Sculpture |
| Form |
Head of a man |
| Materiał |
White crystal marble |
| Kolorystyka |
Dark grey ,White |
| Technika |
Carving with chisel and carving auger (trepan) |
| Czas powstania |
1st-3rd century after Chr. |
| Era |
Antiquity |
| Kraj pochodzenia |
Roman Empire, Province of Gaul (territory of modern France) |
| Autor |
Unknown |
| State of preservation |
Fragmentary (destruct of a full sculpture or votive bust). Condition of the face and profile very good – facial features, the line of the nose and the composition of the hairstyle fully legible. The entire surface shows deep natural erosion of the stone, minor structural chipping and pronounced mineral soil discoloration (yellowish-red earthen patina), evidence of centuries of deposition in the ground. |
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