Male head. Roman. 1st-3rd century AD.
Marble.
Provenance: private collection, François Antonovich, Paris. Sold by judicial auction in 2022.
Measurements: 12 cm. high; 20 cm. high with pedestal.
Head of a Roman ephebe, from a complete free-standing sculpture. The beautiful face, with symmetrical features, conveys calmness. The slightly parted lips are delicately outlined, harmonising with the almond-shaped profile of the eyes. The wavy strands of hair have been worked one by one. The detail in their execution, especially reflected in the individualised hair and the expressive firmness of the face, demonstrate the skilful skill of an artist fully trained in sculptural instruction. The Romans brought two important innovations to the world of sculpture: portraiture and historical relief, neither of which existed in the Greek world. However, they followed Greek models for much of their sculptural production, a basis which in Rome was combined with the Etruscan tradition. After the first contacts with Classical Greece via the Magna Graecia colonies, the Romans conquered Syracuse in 212 BC, a rich and important Greek colony in Sicily, which was adorned with a large number of Hellenistic works. The city was sacked and its art treasures taken to Rome, where the new style of these works soon replaced the Etruscan-Roman tradition that had prevailed until then. Cato himself denounced the looting and decoration of Rome with Hellenistic works, which he considered a dangerous influence on native culture, and deplored the Romans' applause of statues from Corinth and Athens, while ridiculing the decorative terracotta tradition of ancient Roman temples. However, these oppositional reactions were in vain; Greek art had subdued Etruscan-Roman art in general, to the extent that Greek statues were among the most coveted prizes of war, being displayed during the triumphal procession of the conquering generals.