HEAD OF A SATYR

Roman, circa 2nd - 3rd century AD

Carved and highly polished marble

With base: 26.7 cm

Without base: 15.3 cm

Provenance

From the collection of Bo Ive, Denmark (1922 - 1981), thence by descent

Subsequently Bruun Rasmussen, Auction 914, 15 June 2023, Lot 806.

An extremely fine marble head of a satyr, depicted with ivy wreath, curly hair and pointed goat’s ear, the full lips slightly parted to reveal the creature’s clenched teeth.

The head was once part of a relief with visible fragmentation on the left side. Almost completely worked in the round and carefully polished, the skill of the sculptor is particularly remarkable given the confined working space available for a relief carving, such as this.

£50,000