THE BEAUTY WITHIN: The Chenel Collection
THE BEAUTY WITHIN: The Chenel Collection
A Roman Marble Portrait Bust of Hermarchos of Mytilene, circa 1st Century A.D.
Lot Closed
December 17, 04:38 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A Roman Marble Portrait Bust of Hermarchos of Mytilene
circa 1st Century A.D.
the head turned to his left, with full beard, parted lips, and furrowed brow, a himation slung around the shoulders; nose, left earlobe, left half of left eyebrow, most of hair above forehead, and most of shoulders restored.
Total height with socle 36 cm.; height of head 19 cm.
European private collection, 18th Century (based on restoration techniques and socle)
private collection, Île-de-France, probably acquired in the 1960s/1970s (Drouot, Paris, Millon, Haute époque: Le studiolo d'un amateur, March 13th, 2019, no. 254, illus.)
acquired at the above sale
private collection, Île-de-France, probably acquired in the 1960s/1970s (Drouot, Paris, Millon, Haute époque: Le studiolo d'un amateur, March 13th, 2019, no. 254, illus.)
acquired at the above sale
Sotheby's, London, December 3rd, 2019, no. 38, illus.
The head belongs to a portrait type identified by an inscription on a small bronze copy from Herculaneum as the Greek philosopher Hermarchos of Mytilene (circa 340–after 270 B.C.). For the type, which is dated to the mid-3rd Century B.C., see R. von den Hoff, Philosophenporträts des Früh- und Hochhellenismus, 1994, pp. 75ff. A small-scale copy of the same type was sold at Sotheby’s, London, June 13th, 2016, no. 48.