129 - Head of a young man as a worshipper of Isis. Roman Imperial period, 2nd quarter of the 3rd century A.D. White, fine-grained marble. H 29 cm. Life-size portrait of an adolescent man with short hair styled in the manner of Severus Alexander. The head was carved from an existing portrait, from which the sculptor left a few strands of hair behind the right ear. Another section of the original surface at the back of the head allows the first version to be dated to the 1st century A.D. Chipping on the nose, mouth, and chin, as well as on the left temple. Provenance: From a private collection in Berlin. Ex Gorny & Mosch Auction 239, June 16, 2016, lot 124; ex Collection R.H., acquired from the previous owner before 1990. The lock of hair left standing on the right side is not an oversight on the part of the sculptor who created the second version of the head. Rather, it characterizes the young man as a devotee of the Egyptian goddess Isis. The youthful lock of hair, worn in the Egyptian style, likens the boy to the Egyptian god Harpocrates, the son of Isis. It is therefore assumed that this feature is related to the Isis mysteries and that these children were consecrated to the goddess Isis. These portraits likely originate from funerary contexts, and the designation as a follower of the Egyptian goddess was intended to place the boy under her protection even in the afterlife. See S. V. von Gonzenbach, *Investigations into the Initiation of Boys in the Cult of Isis during the Roman Imperial Period* (1957); H. Goette, “Roman Portraits of Children with Youthful Curls,” *Athenische Mitteilungen* 104, 1989, 203ff.