Marble portrait of an unknown man
Hellenistic, 100-50 BC
Said to have been found at Koskinu, Rhodes
A touch of pathos for a funerary function?
The Hellenistic period saw the rise of the private portrait, no
doubt as a result of the emergence of the middle classes as an
important social and economic group in society. Portrait heads
appeared on rings and gems used as seals, but portrait sculptures
were always full-length, whether on grave stelae or erected as
statues on inscribed bases, informing the viewer of the name and
social status of the subject. Some portraits were set up by the
civic community to honour an individual who had contributed funds
towards public buildings, or provided benefaction to society at
large. Others were awarded to important officials or priests and
priestesses. Portrait statues could also be used like stelae to
mark graves. As Rome conquered the Greek world, portraits of
private individuals abounded and it is sometimes uncertain whether
the subject portrayed is a pro-Roman Greek or a Greek-loving
Roman.
For male portraits, such as this, the overt idealism seen in
portraits of earlier periods is gone. Subjects were often shown as
middle-aged, with receding hairlines, wrinkles and other general
signs of ageing - there is a strong effect of conspicuous realism.
This man also exhibits distinct signs of compassion, with a touch
of pathos in the twist of his head that may suggest that the whole
figure served a funerary function. The head is separately carved
with part of the draped upper body to be inserted into a clothed
figure.
S. Walker, Greek and Roman portraits (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
R.R.R.Smith, Hellenistic sculpture (London, Thames and Hudson, 1991)
A.H. Smith, A catalogue of sculpture in -1, vol. 2 (London, British Museum, 1900)