A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF A YOUTH 3rd century AD... Lot 73

A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF A YOUTH 3rd century AD 14 cm (5,33 in) high Possibly from a figure of Eros depicting as a child, luxuriant coiffure with finely sculpted center-parted tresses and wavy curling locks falling onto the upper part of both ears, the chubby face with lidded eyes with drilled pupils, the smiling mouth slightly open revealing the upper row of teeth, rounded cheeks and chin. For the style and in particular the treatment of the coiffure, compare the marble Portrait of a boy of Santa Maria degli Angeli Collection, Rome, inv. 12055, and a Roman copy of ca. 117-138 AD of an original Greek of the 5th century BC placed in the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. This portrait has been attributed to infant Caracalla due to various elements, such as tipology and the highly refined style REFERENCES: R. Friggeri, M. Magnani Cinetti, C. Carulo (ed. by), Terme di Diocleziano: il chiostro piccolo della Certosa di Santa Maria degli Angeli, p. 141, im. 36.4. PROVENANCE: Private Collection, England.