A Head of a Young Satyr

Roman Empire
Roman | 1st – 2nd Century AD

Giallo antico marble | Carved in high relief
H. 11 cm. W. 8,7 cm. D. 5 cm. | On later metal base

PROVENANCE
With Bernard Blondeel Kunsthandel N.V. | Antwerp | 1998
Private collection | The Netherlands

REFERENCE LITERATURE
Andreae, B. (1994). Bildkatalog der Skulpturen des Vatikanischen Museums, vol. I.3, pl. 1033
Mitten, D.G. & Doeringer, S.F. (1967). Master bronzes from the classical world. Mainz am Rhein: Von Zabern, p. 296, nr. 294
Padgett, M.J. (2001). Roman sculpture in The Art Museum. Princeton: Art Museum Princeton University, pp. 109-111, nr. 28

DOCUMENTATION
With proof of purchase and expertise by Bernard Blondeel, Antwerp, dd. 17 March 1998

CATALOGUE NOTE
The young Satyr is depicted with a lively expression on his cheerful face, looking outward toward the viewer. His thick wavy hair is swept up revealing the forehead and emphasizing the round contours of his face. His hair is arranged in a central quiff and delicately carved crescent-shaped locks, a feature characteristic of young satyrs. The boy is wearing a wreath in his hair adorned with ivy leaves and two clusters of berries of each side. This garland clearly identifies him as a satyr, one of the followers of the Roman wine-god Bacchus. His face has recessed eyes and smiling parted lips. The relief is sculptured in high relief out a yellow marble known by its Italian name giallo antico (‘antique yellow’). This precious yellow marble was used first by the ancient Africans and later by the ancient Romans, which they called marmor numidicum (‘marble of Numidia’). It was one of the marbles most favoured by the Romans because of its beautiful yellow colour. The head is flat backed, shows no restorations and is mounted to the later metal pedestal.

Satyrs were part-human and part-animal creatures popular in Greco-Roman mythology. They were conceived of as frolicking denizens of the woodlands, ever ready for mischief in order to satisfy their unrestrained urges. Although in ancient art satyrs were rendered in different ways, the youthful satyr type was introduced in Greek art during the fourth century B.C. Its success is attested by the many later statutes of young satyrs produced during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The present satyr head, notable of its refined carving in the hair, dates to the Roman period and was carved in the fist or second century A.D. The upswept hair surmounted by a wreath of ivy leaves and berries can be found in other examples of satyr heads, such as an example in the collection of the Vatican Museums in Rome (Andreae, 1994, pl. 1033). A similar version of a crown consisting of clusters of berries and ivy leaves also carved out of giallo antico and dated ca. 50–100 A.D. can be found in the collection of the Princeton University Art Museum (Herm bust of Pan; inv.nr. Y1963-44; Padgett, 2001, pp. 109-111, nr. 28). In his expertise Blondeel relates the present sculpture to a bronze Head of Hermes, dated to the 1st Century AD, (coll. Hearst; Mitten & Doeringer, 1967, p. 296) and to Head of Pan, dated 2nd Century AD (coll. Stara Zagora Historical Museum, inv.nr. 2Sz 842).