12th Century Italian Carved Stone Bust. Antique carved Italian stone bust of man in profile, mounted on black matte. Framed.

Overall Size: 9 3/4 x 10 1/2 in.
Sight Size: 4 3/4 x 6 in.

Twelfth-century Italian stone busts reflect the transitional period between Romanesque rigidity and the early stirrings of naturalism that would later flourish in the Renaissance. Typically carved from marble or local stone, these works often depict religious figures, saints, and occasionally civic leaders, emphasizing solemnity, symbolic gestures, and stylized features rather than individualized likeness. The busts were frequently used in ecclesiastical settings—cathedrals, baptisteries, and cloisters—as devotional objects or architectural ornamentation, combining sculptural form with narrative and spiritual purpose. While proportion and anatomical accuracy were secondary to symbolic and hierarchical importance, the careful attention to drapery, facial expression, and texture demonstrates the growing skill and artistic ambition of Italian sculptors during this era.

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