A PRIVATE PORTRAIT OF A MATURE MAN H. 30.8 cm.... Lot 195

A PRIVATE PORTRAIT OF A MATURE MAN H. 30.8 cm. Marble. Roman, mid-3rd cent. A.D. The male head is covered with a profusion of short, sometimes sickle-shaped curls carved in very fine detail. Curls at back of head less meticulously defined. Whorl above the forehead. The hair extends down in front of the ears and describes a flat arch above the triple furrows of the brow. The eyebrows form shallow arches from the bridge of the nose to the temples. These elements, together with the wide, slightly drooping eyelids that partly cover the incised irises and barely reveal the almost circular drilling of the pupils, combine to give the image an expression of thoughtful concentration. The prominent lacrimal sacs above the cheekbones lead into the soft, slightly sagging flesh of the cheeks. The chin and half the cheeks are covered by the long, almost shaggy S-waves of the beard, beneath which the contour of the chin is clearly visible. The sculptor?s drill was used in several places below the chin and on the neck. Beginnings of nose preserved and restored. A few places on forehead, eyebrows, eyes, right cheek and lips restored. Ears slightly worn. Provenance: Formerly private coll., Switzerland, 1980s. On loan: Antikenmuseum Basel & Sammlung Ludwig, 1981-1982. Exhibited: Gesichter. Griechische und römische Bildnisse aus der Schweiz, Historisches Museum Bern, 6.11.1982-6.2.1983. Thereafter Sotheby?s London, 8.7.1991, lot 268 with illus. Thereafter Galleria Serodine SA, Arte e Antichità, Ascona. There- after Fortuna Fine Arts New York, Reflections of the Past (New York, 2001) no. 37. Publication: H. Jucker-D. Willers, Gesichter. Griechische und römische Bildnisse aus Schweizer Besitz, exhibition cat. Berne 6.11.1982-6.2.1983 (Berne 1982) 200 f., no. 84 with illus. PRIVATBILDNIS EINES ÄLTEREN MANNES H. 30.8 cm. Marmor. Römisch, um die Mitte 3. Jh.n.C. Das Haupt des Mannes bedeckt eine dichte Fülle kurzer, teils sichelförmiger Locken mit feinster Binnenstruktur. Locken am H