An Archaistic Head of a Youth, possibly Apollo
Roman, late 1st century B.C. - 1st century A.D.
Marble
Height: 25.5 cm
Width: 19.0 cm
Depth: 18.0 cm
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Slightly under life-size head of a youth, perhaps Apollo, with intricate hairstyle. Produced in the Roman period but modelled on Greek sculptures of the Late Archaic and Early Classical Periods, ecclectically combining elements from these earlier periods. This type of retrospective sculpture was especially popular in the emperor Augustus' artistic program. Beginnings of nose preserved. Lips, chin, right ear lobe and loops of hair on the side of the head slightly worn. Some slight wear to the surfaces.
PROVENANCE
Formerly priv. coll. Christen Sandberg (1861-1918), importer of coal and corn and German vice-consul, his friendship with Danish and Norwegian artists made him a public figure, Norway. Thence by descent in the family. Sandberg has been portrayed by Edvard Munch.
NOTE
On the type cf. H. Herdejürgen, Archaistische Skulpturen aus frührömischer Zeit, JdI 87, 1972, 299-313. Cf. also the comments by F. Rumscheid, Überlegungen zum archaistischen Kopftypus Brüssel-Konservatorenpalast, AA 1992, 83-98; E. Milleker, The Bégassière Head: An Archaistic Apollo?, in: A. J. Clark - J. Gaunt (eds.), Essays in Honor of Dietrich von Bothmer (Amsterdam 2002) 217-23, pls. 58-60. On archaism in Augustan art in connection with Apollo, cf. the comments by A. Sanders, Roman Archaism in the Depictions of Apollo in the Augustan Period (Bowling Green State University, Ohio, Honors Project, 2016; s. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/honorsprojects).