A Roman marble male portrait head
Circa 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D.
Possibly a priest of Isis, the mature male thick-set with a bald or shaved head, lidded almond-shaped eyes, slightly parted lips and rounded chin, with fleshy neck and sloping shoulders, 37cm high注脚Provenance:
French art market.
Anonymous sale; Bonhams, London, 21 April 2005, lot 217.
Spanish art market.
Anonymous sale; Bonhams London, 15 October 2008, lot 236.
Private collection, UK, acquired at the above sale.
Anonymous sale; Bonhams, London, 24 October 2012, lot 140.
Private collection, UK, acquired at the above sale.

The subject's total absence of hair, including a lack of indication of hair at the sides and back of the head (which would be consistent with natural balding), suggests that he may have served as a priest of Isis, despite lacking the small X sometimes found carved into the forehead of such priests. For similar, see C. C. Vermeule, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America, Los Angeles, 1981, p. 303, no. 259; for discussion of the portraiture of these priests, see S. Wood, 'Isis, Eggheads, and Roman Portraiture' JARCE, vol. 24, 1987, pp. 123-141.