This very accomplished marble relief depicts a male figure in three-quarter view facing left. The figure has been represented according to Greek artistic conventions as a mature individual with a very full head of hair arranged in a very intricate style. That hair has been gathered at the back of the head into a chignon, has been coiffed over the forehead in a series of tight ringlets, and has been braided in a series of extremely long cork-screw locks, two of which cascade over his shoulder. The entire coiffure is held in place by a diadem. Complementing this luxuriantly full head of intricately arranged hair is the figure’s full beard, trimmed into an impressive triangular shape, which projects forward into space and which is accompanied by a thick moustache.The individual is represented as a heroic nude with a mantled draped over his shoulders in such a way that their interaction serves as a foil so that the interplay of his flesh and fold, so characteristic of Greek art, is revealed to greatest advantage. In this manner, the naturalistically rendered human body and the lively qualities imparted to the inanimate drapery become an orchestration of contrasts.

Antiquities
Ancient Roman