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Roman Art


RB020
Roman bronze applique winged head of a man with pointed ears.
1st-2nd century AD.
Height: 4.53 cm (1 3/4 in.)
Fine green patina.

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The appliqué head of a man, in profile to the left, depicting the left side of the head.  It is finely modeled wit a strong, yet calm expression of the face, with prominent straight nose, slightly open mouth with full lips, rounded chin and strong jaw in straight angle. The large almond shaped eye is depicted frontally, looking upwards, and the ear is pointed. The hair with curly locks, with a small wing on top. The spread wing is modeled almost horizontally, in angle towards up, matching the attitude of the head, parallel to the angle of the big neck, and to the line of the hair locks, giving the impression that the head is in upwards flight.
The combination of the two mythological attributes of this head is very unusual. The wings on the head are the attribute of Medusa, Mercury (-Hermes) or Hypnos. The pointed ears are the attribute of Pan, or Satyr, which are associated with goats. The combination of the two attributes in one figure is unknown, and we were not able to find any parallel to it. It could be suggested, that this head represents a local mythological tradition, which needs more research.

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  Roman bronze applique winged head of a man with pointed ears. Click on any image to enlarge it.

Roman bronze applique winged head of a man with pointed ears.Roman bronze applique winged head of a man with pointed ears.



Gideon Sasson • Sasson  Ancient Art • King David Hotel - Annex, Jerusalem - 94101,  Israel
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