Tondo
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1700 - 1800
Materials
Carrara marble
Measurements
500 x 300 x 120 mm
Collection
Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire
NT 831165
Summary
Oval surround with head of shrouded man. Ancient relief of man with head covered "capite velato" set into modern bust and medallion. Early second century? The object consists of: 1) the medallion with bust and set on a tabula is made from one piece of marble and completely preserved; 2) the bust foot is made from another piece of marble; 3) the ancient head. The crests of many folds have been restored, some of the restorations are now missing The eyeballs are unmarked but there is drilling in the locks of hair. There are traces of the rasp between the locks of hair
Provenance
The head seems to have been part of a large relief. It depicts an aged and heavily bearded figure whose long hair and elderly physiognomy cannot be linked to any datable fashion or identity. The figure wears either a heavy garment pulled over his head. This may be a toga, which was pulled over the head when an individual made a sacrifice, or a mantle to keep an elderly man warm. Were it a toga, one might see resemblance of the Farnborough figure to the sacrificing Aeneas (the legendary founder of the Roman race) on the Ara Pacis in Rome; were it a mantle, it would recall the figure of Aion (Eternity) in the Zoilos relief from Aphrodisias. Whatever the precise identity, the iconography and the technique suggest that the head is ancient. The relief head, however, has now been carefully set into a medallion which has been made expressly for it. This detail as well suggests that the head is ancient since a sculptor, starting from scratch, would probably not make the two objects together.