Head in the round featuring Dionysus Tauros - Lot 78

Head in the round featuring Dionysus Tauros Inspired by a Greek original from the 4th century B.C., commonly attributed to Praxiteles. The divinity can be identified by the two nascent horns emerging from the short curls of his hair. The locks are held back by a headband and fall back into the neck, revealing the ears. The mouth is slightly ajar, the eyes almond-shaped and hemmed, the features youthful and sensual. White marble. Broken nose, missing lobe, spalls on arches, lip and chin. Roman art, 1st century. Height : 34 cm Provenance : - Former Roger Peyrefitte collection (1907-2000), before 1977. - Mes Ader, Vente de la collection Roger Peyrefitte, Paris, Hôtel Georges V, May 26, 1977, lot 19. - Former Antonovitch collection. - Private collection since 1979. Published by François ANTONOVITCH, Les métamorphoses divines d'Alexandre, Mouseion éditions, 1996, n°252. Bull horns are generally associated with Dionysus. Early Hellenistic rulers associated them with a divine attribute. A very similar head can be found in the Narbonne Museum and a bust in the Uffizi Museum (inv. no. 39).