A Marble Head of Hermes or Dionysos, Roman Imperial , circa late 1st Century A.D.

after a Greek protoype of the early 4th Century B.C., from a herm, his face with long moustache, full beard of voluted curls, parted lips, heavy-lidded eyes, and furrowed brow, his centrally parted wavy hair radiating from the crown, bound in a fillet, massed in spiral curls about the ears, and falling in a broad plait over the back of the neck and two long strands over the sides.

acquired in France in 1974

good and as shown, surface slightly weathered especially on face, very minor chips and scratches overall, including a few fresh ones, edge of nose abraded
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The present head might be the one recorded as being on the Paris art market in 1911, and said to be from Athens (P. Arndt and W. Amelung, Photographische Einzelaufnahmen antiker Sculpturen, Munich, series VI,1912, col. 31, under nos. 1656/57).

For two closely related examples in the Vatican, Museo Gregoriano Profano inv. nos. 10120 and 10068, see Chr. Vorster, Römische Skulpturen des späten Hellenismus und der Kaiserzeit (Monumenta Artis Romanae, vol. 22), Mainz am Rhein, 1993, p. 131-135, nos. 58-59, figs. 258-264 (LIMC, vol. III, p. 443, no. 186). For other examples see L. Curtius, Zeus und Hermes, Munich, 1931, pp. 53f., and  Vorster, op. cit., p. 134, n. 2.