Greek
A Greek marble head of a youth, Hellenistic, circa 3rd century BC
Marble
Height: 14 cm
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.
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
Collection of Pierre and Claude Vérité, acquired between 1930 and 1960, ParisChristie'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. 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.