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Egypt, Romano-Egyptian, ca. 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE. A skillfully sculpted stucco portrait head presenting a solemn visage comprised of wide-open, heavy lidded eyes, a dare I say perfect nose, and full closed lips – topped by a striated coiffure styled in a manner that is brushed forward toward the forehead – most likely painted at one time. The realistic proportions of this face suggest that this sculptor revered mathematically based proportions in his figures, much like the Greek sculptor Polykleitos whose oeuvre was admired (and copied) by the Romans and who purportedly said, “Perfection comes about little by little through many numbers”. Custom block stand. Size: 5.25″ L x 5.75″ W x 8.25″ H (13.3 cm x 14.6 cm x 21 cm)
Polykleitos created a canon, a body of standards for depicting the ideal proportions of the human body that were later summarized by Galen, “Beauty consists in the proportions, not of the elements, but of the parts, that is to say, of finger to finger, and of all the fingers to the palm and the wrist, and of these to the forearm, and of the forearm to the upper arm, and of all the other parts to each other.” The beauty of ratios – art and mathematics working together in harmony – resulting in idyllic sculpture.
Condition: Some restoration and stabilization to the left side as viewed. Surface wear and losses as shown.
Provenance: private United Kingdom collection, Wiltshire, acquired in Notting Hill Gate, London, in the early 1990s
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