Greek, A Greek marble head of a youth, Hellenistic, circa 3rd century BC

Greek

A Greek marble head of a youth, Hellenistic, circa 3rd century BC

Marble

Height: 14 cm

Further images

The head of an ephebe, a young man with curling hair brushed back from his forehead, with large eyes deeply-set beneath a strong browline, the lips slightly parted.

Provenance

Lord Smith Collection, UK (according to the label on the underside of the base)
Collection of Pierre and Claude Vérité, acquired between 1930 and 1960, Paris, France
Christie's, Paris, Archéologie: Collection Pierre et Claude Vérité, 20 December 2011, lot 112

Literature

The wavy hair drawn back from the face, as well as the deep set eyes and intense expression is reminiscent of Skopas's Meleager. For a 4th century BC head influenced by Skopas, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, see acc. no. 11.91.1. There are also similarities with depictions of athletes and Herakles from the late Classical and early Hellenistic period. For a head of similar date, thought to be either Herakles or an athlete, see the marble from Rhodes, now in the British Museum, acc. no. 1874,0805.118: no. 364 in J. Boardman, ‘Herakles,’ in LIMC, vol. IV.

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