PRESUMED PORTRAIT OF HONORIUS Western Roman emperor... Lot 5

PRESUMED PORTRAIT OF HONORIUS Western Roman emperor (395-423) ROME, VE Century Marble Head : H. 37 cm, W. 20 cm, D. 26 cm Misses Provenance Former Ghassan Bassali collection (Beirut, 1960, imported in France in 1985). This carved head represents a man with strongly characterized features. Two deep wrinkles at the root of his aquiline nose, underlined by a wide mouth with thick lips, give him a cold and determined air that is not softened by the dimple in his chin. His piercing gaze is that of a man of power. We also notice the attention paid to the hairstyle, brought back in a bun at the base of the skull while a row of regular curls girdles his head. This portrait could be that of Honorius, son of Theodosius and first Western Roman emperor (395-423). The circumstances of his reign were particularly difficult. He was confronted with the invasions of the Germanic peoples who sacked Rome in 410.