White marble head of a moustachioed faun, his... Lot 31

White marble head of a moustachioed faun, his mouth half-opened to reveal his tongue. The ears are pointed, the irises are incised and the pupils hollowed out. The hair is worked with a drill bit. Gallo-Roman art. South of the Massif Central. Probably late 2nd or 3rd century AD. Accidents and traces of pedestal in the XIX/XXth century. H. : 32 cm - L. : 27 cm - W. : 21 cm. Has a certificate of export of cultural property issued in 2021. Provenance : This head was presented at the exhibition " Beaux-Arts et Arts rétrospectifs " organized by the municipality of Rodez in June-July 1892 (n°311 of the catalogue) by its owner at that time, Mr. d'Ardenne de Tizac. Then kept in the family castle of Réquista in La Bastide-l'Evêque, it was "rediscovered" in the early 1960s by Gilbert Bou who published it. It was then suggested that it was the marble head of "Bacchus" found in 1827 at La Madeleine, near Villefranche-de-Rouergue (8 km as the crow flies from the Réquista castle), which had been lost. However, according to family tradition, this head was found at a place called Le Serre in La Bastide-L'Evêque during a ploughing and could be associated with the presence of Zmaragdus, steward of the iron mines under Tiberius, mentioned in an important inscription found on the spot. A large Roman stone head, designated as "Cap dé l'Ebesqué" was found a short distance away, also at the end of the 19th century (cf. BOU, p. 15). To be compared with the marble faun head exhibited in the Fenaille Museum in Rodez (inv. E456) which was found in Rodelle, because of the proximity of the discovery sites (about 60 km), but also by the importance of the moustaches and the treatment of the eyes. Publications : P. Gruat, G. Malige and M. Vidal, L'Aveyron, Coll. Carte archéologique de la Gaule, n°12, 2011, p. 104, fig. 25a. M. Labrousse, " Toulouse ", Gallia, 22.2, 1964, p. 432-433, fig. 10. G. Bou, "Notes d'archéologie gallo-romaine sur la région de La Bastide-l'Evèque", Procès-Verbaux des séances de le Société des lettres, sciences et arts de l'Aveyron, 39, Rodez, 1963-1966, pp. 13-14. U. Cabrol, " Essai de critique historique au sujet d'une ville qui a existé dans la plaine de la Madeleine, près de Villefranche-de-Rouergue ", Mémoires de la Société des lettres, sciences et art de l'Aveyron, t. 11, 1879, p. 330. Expert : Jean-Sylvain Caillou Doctor in history and civilizations of Antiquity Archaeologist - Judicial expert at the Court of Appeal of Orléans Associate researcher at the French Institute of the Near East (Ifpo) Teacher at the Catholic University of the West (Angers) and at Centrale Nantes.