MONUMENTAL MALE TORSO Fragmentary torso of an athlete in Proconnesian marble (marmor proconnesium) carved with very slight characteristic blue veins. Roman Empire, 1st or 2nd century AD. Height: 51 cm - Height with base: 72 cm - Width: 67 cm - Depth: 32 cm (Fragment, plinth, old levelling underneath with staking and old threaded iron tenon) Provenance: French private collection: French private collection. Description: This spectacular male torso in marble of imposing dimensions is in all likelihood a Roman copy of a classical Greek original from the 5th-4th century BC, probably attached to the canon of Polyclitus, as evidenced by the balanced musculature, the prominent pectorals and the presence of a very slight contrapposto perceptible in the modelling of the back. The Proconnesian marble from which it is made, which was highly prized during the Imperial Roman period, is clearly identifiable with its diffuse blue-grey veins, irregular saccharoid grain and cream colouring punctuated by mineral inclusions.