DiscussionRe-cut colossal portrait head of Tetrach. Probably from Asia Minor. Late third to early fourth century. PROVENANCEPurchased on art market. Probably from Asia Minor. DESCRIPTION (Object) Colossal head. H: 45 cm. Fine-grained white marble. The head is broken through the neck along two different planes. There are chips at the front of the neck, on the rims of the ear, and at the tip of the nose. The top, back left, of the head has a flat area that possibly represents the end of the original block of marble from which the head was carved. The head was probably worked together with its statue. The nape features a large block of uncarved stone (neck pillar), and a roughly picked area continues up the centre of the back of the head. Behind both ears are areas that have been worked roughly with the flat chisel. From the ears forward, at a lower level than the tooling behind it, short hair has been rendered with a flat chisel. The same technique has been used to render the beard. The beard, above and below, is separated from the face by an engraved line. The eyeballs have been marked with a large, hollowed half circle that touches the upper eyelid. The philtrum and centre of the upper lip feature a small, carefully worked depression, possibly for a repair. DESCRIPTION (Subject) The large size and mode of self-representation indicate a Tetrarch. It most likely comes from Asia Minor, specifically Pamphylia, where several stylistically similar heads have been found. The head has the blocky outline of tetrachic portraits and wears the short hair and beard style of the military man. It does, however, have some particular physiognomical details: a long hooked nose, one furrow across the brow, a short chin, and small bow-shaped lips. IDENTIFICATION Bergmann notes that the head belongs stylistically with a group of Tetrarchic heads from Pamphylia (LSA-244, LSA-245, LSA-246, LSA-384, LSA-396), in particular a group, all re-cut from earlier portraits, from building M at Side (LSA-244, LSA-245, LSA-246). One of those heads shows a technically similar separation of beard from face (LSA-245). The precise identification of individual provincial Tetrarchic portraits is usually not possible. For this head Meischner has suggested Constantine, and Bergmann Maximinus Daia; neither with strong reasons. Some of the physiognomic specificity of this head may belong to the original model. Bergmann points out convincingly that this head was probably re-cut from an Augustus or Julio-Claudian male. The smooth cheeks, broad flat brow, and smooth surface of the eyeballs suggest this. Main ReferenceBerger, E. (ed), Antike Kunstwerke aus der Sammlung Ludwig. III Skulpturen, Mainz 1990, 383-401, no. 254 (M. Bergmann)Jucker, H. and D. Willers (eds.) , Gesichter : griechische und römische Bildnisse aus Schweizer Besitz: Ausstellung im Bernischen Historischen Museum vom 6. November 1982 bis 6. Februar 1983, Bern 1983, no. 92 Discussion ReferencesMeischner, J., Bildnisse der Spätantike : 193-500 : Problemfelder : die Privatporträts , Berlin 2001, 80, figs. 231-32 |
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