A marble bust of Helios, Roman Imperial, circa early 2nd Century A.D.

or perhaps Alexander the Great as Helios, wearing a chiton and himation fastened with a circular brooch on the right shoulder, his head turned to his right, his idealized face with parted lips, straight nose, eyes hollowed out for inlays, his long deeply drilled hair upswept above the forehead and flowing back down to the nape of the neck, the bust resting on an orb also carved in one piece with the profiled circular base.

Sotheby's London, December 12, 1988, lot 109, illustrated

Sotheby's London, December 12, 1983, lot 322, illustrated
Günter Grimm, "Paulina und Antinous. Zur Vergöttlichung der Hadriansschwester in Ägypten," in Das antike Rom und der Osten: Festschrift für Klaus Parlasca zum 65. Geburtstag, Erlangen, 1990, pl. 13, 2
Barbara Borg, Henner von Hesberg, and Andreas Linfert, Die antiken Skulpturen in Castle Howard (Monumenta artis Romanae, vol. 31), Wiesbaden, 2005, p. 66, note 19
François Antonovitch, Les métamorphoses divines d'Alexandre, Paris, 1996, p. 71, illustrated

Weathered, old worn chip to right nostril of nose, old worn chip to bottom lip, stains and discoloration to face, repaired chip to drapery fold now showing crack, extensive chips/wear/losses to molded edge of plinth, crack to sphere and to circular base.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For related busts of Helios cf. Photographische Einzelaufnahme Antiker Sculpturen, nos. 811 (Rome market), 1172 (Palazzo Lazzaroni, now Schloss Fasanerie), and 2444-2446 (Venice, Museo Archeologico, said to be from Greece). In both the 1983 and 1988 London sale catalogues the present bust appeared after a bust of the moon goddess Selene, with which it was said to have been found "in the Eastern Mediterranean;" a Greek inscription is engraved on a fold of Selene's drapery.