Hermes. Rome, I-II A.D.

Hermes. Rome, I-II A.D.
Marble bust.
Good condition of the fragment. Patina according to its age.
Mounted on modern marble base.
Measurements: 17 x 11 x 7,5 cm (bust); 5 x 11 x 6 cm (base).

Marble sculptural fragment representing the head of Hermes (Mercury), divinity associated to commerce, travelers and eloquence. The identification is suggested by the idealized youthful physiognomy and the treatment of the hair, as well as by the insinuated presence of the petasus.

The piece is inscribed in the context of High Imperial Roman sculpture, a moment of artistic plenitude in which Rome assimilated and spread the models of classical Greece. During the first and second centuries A.D., especially under the influence of imperial philhellenism, these images reproduce an ideal of serene and timeless beauty.

The treatment of the hair, worked in depth with a trephine, generates hallmarks of light and shadow that bring dynamism to the whole, a characteristic resource of the sculpture of this period. This type of head may have been part of a herma or of a decorative ensemble of cult character, linked to public or private spaces.

It is a fragment of archaeological interest that retains its value both for its plastic quality and for belonging to one of the most refined moments of Roman sculpture.