A carved marble head of a youth - image-1
A carved marble head of a youth - image-2
A carved marble head of a youth - image-1A carved marble head of a youth - image-2

Lot 1459 Dα

A carved marble head of a youth

Auction 1174 - overview Cologne
04.06.2021, 12:00 - Decorative Arts
Estimate: 8.000 € - 10.000 €
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A carved marble head of a youth

Relief sculpture carved from dark brown amber with dark patina and remnants of polychromy, depicting a young man with a fringe facing left with naturalistically rendered eyes. Cracks around the upper part of the head. H ca. 10, W ca. 8.5 cm. In a 17th century North Italian painted wooden frame, H 48, W 40.5 cm.
Presumably late Medieval, 15th C.

This head is reminiscent of cameo depictions Roman emperors such as the glass cameo with the head of Augustus in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (acc. no. 74.51.4297). The sculptor presumably had an ancient model in mind, although his design is much more expressive. It is plausible that this piece was designed as the head of a monastic saint and once formed part of a larger decorative scheme, such as a book cover or altar. The darker head was applied (later?) to a lighter translucent amber plate. The artist accentuated the facial features by colouring the eyes. The pupil and iris are finely drawn and contrast sharply against the white of the eyeball. This exceptional object is difficult to date, but was most likely made before 1500.

Provenance

French private collection.