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An ancient Roman Marble three-quarter life-size head of a bearded man, dating to the 1st Century AD.
The aging man is sensitively carved, depicted with furrowed brow and slightly parted lips. He is bearded, his hair balding at the top but thickly curled at the back and sides. His facial features, including cheekbones, temporal bone and orbital ridge are well defined. His eyes are deep-set and gaze out pensively. The face has been polished by the ancient sculptor to create a wonderful, naturalistic aesthetic.
This accomplished work of Roman Sculpture bears a close resemblance to portraits of the Greek Orator, Demosthenes. Demosthenes was an Athenian Lawyer, practiced in Rhetoric, who delivered powerful orations against Phillip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. Phillip and Alexander commanded the powerful Macedonian expansion, which threatened Athenian Democracy and Independence in the 4th Century BC. Demosthenes is celebrated more as a defender (albeit ultimately an unsuccessful one) of Greek freedom than as an orator, and following his death a sculpture in his likeness was commissioned for the Athenian Agora (marketplace). This original sculpture is now lost, but the depiction survives in a number of Greek and Roman copies, which can now be found in major museums.1 Portraits of Demosthenes often show him with a furrowed brow, as in this piece. This is believed to represent the struggle of Demosthenes to control his emotions of loss and regret for the fall of Athens.2
This sculpture may well represent the famous orator or alternatively may be inspired by contemporary depictions of him. A spectacular and expressive sculpture.
Height, mounted on modern marble base: 12 1/2 inches.
Height of head alone: 8 3/4 inches.
Condition: A very well preserved ancient sculpture. Minor 18th Century restorations to the nose and chin complete the portrait.
Provenance: Ex European Private collection. Ex. John Borthwick Antiques, Melbourne, acquired in 1968. With original label on the base and an old export label on the head bearing the seal of the British Antique Dealers Association.
References:
1For images of Demosthenes, see the following online resources:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Demosthenes.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Demosthenes_orator_Louvre.jpg
2 Dillon, Ancient Greek Portrait Sculpture, 2006 (Cambridge). p.76
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