Head of a Man

Class and production: sculpture/ portraits

Subject: Asclepius

Cultural context: Greek workshop / Roman period

Date: first half of the 2nd century A.D.

Description

The head probably represents a god with a noble and idealized appearance. The “cercine” headdress on his hair identifies him as Asclepius, the god of medicine. The sculpture is a replica produced in the 2nd century A.D., at the time of emperor Hadrianus, and it was made by a workshop of Greek tradition. The subject could be a replica of the Asclepius by Phyromachos. The inspiring model could be a lost Greek original by a workshop from the school of Pheidias, Athens, 5th century B.C.

Materials and techniques: white marble

Dimensions: height 19 cm, lenght 14 cm

Provenance: Mantova Benavides Collection, Padua; Vallisneri Collection, Padua

University of Padua, Museum of Archaeological Sciences and Art

Cat. Number: MB93

Bibliography

• De Paoli Marcella, 13.Testa di Asclepio, in Un Museo di Antichità nella Padova del Cinquecento. La raccolta di Marco Mantova Benavides all'Università di Padova, a cura di Irene Favaretto, Alessandra Menegazzi, Roma, Giorgio Bretschneider, 2013, pp. 37- 38.