Portrait of a Man
Culture: Roman
Date: mid-2nd-3rd century
Medium: Limestone
Dimensions:
h. 85 1/16 in. (216.1 cm); w. 29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm); d. 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
Credit Line: Bequest of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 2005.1.93
Provenance: sold, Sotheby's, London, Dec. 12, 1988, lot 132 to Royal Athena Galleries, New York; unsold, Sotheby's, New York, June 12, 1993, lot 153; sold in private sale by Sotheby's, New York to Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. (1921-2004), San Antonio, 1993; Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., by bequest to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2005
Published References
Sotheby's, London, Dec. 12, 1988, lot 132, pl. 77
Royal Athena Galleries, Art of the Ancient World VI.2 (New York, May 1991), no. 10
Sotheby's, New York, June 12, 1993, lot 153
J. Powers and J. Johnston, eds., San Antonio Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection (San Antonio: San Antonio Museum of Art, 2012), 49.
Label Text
This portrait depicts a bearded man wearing a himation, a Greek garment that continued to be worn by men from the eastern provinces during the Roman Empire. The statue was probably an honorific one erected in a public place to commemorate the man’s achievements. The use of travertine (a type of limestone) is unusual for this kind of statue and suggests that it may have been carved in a region where marble was not available. (Jessica Powers 2008)
On view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
