ROSSO ANTICO THEATRICAL MASK
Roman Empire, 1st Century A.D.

rosso antico and marble

the mask: 5.5 x 4.2 cm | 2 1/4 x 1 3/4 in

Provenance
Penicuik House, Midlothian, acquired by either Sir John Clerk, 2nd Baronet of Penicuik (1676-1755) or his son Sir James Clerk, of Penicuik, 3rd Baronet of Penicuik (1709-1783)
thence by descent 

The present work is reputedly from Penicuik House, Midlothian, and is thought to have entered the collection either during the ownership of Sir John Clerk, 2nd Baronet of Penicuik (1676–1755), or that of his son, Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet (1709–1783).

The Penicuik collection was particularly noted for its holdings of classical antiquities, reflecting the intellectual and collecting interests of Sir John Clerk, one of the foremost Scottish antiquarians of the early eighteenth century. Clerk himself recorded in his diary that he had “applied much to classical learning” and possessed “more than ordinary inclination for Greek and Roman Antiquities,” a statement borne out by the character and reputation of his collection. His contemporary, the antiquarian Alexander Gordon, remarked that “among all the collections of Roman antiquities in Scotland, that of Baron Clerk claims the preference, both as to number and curiosity.”

Although best known for his public career—as Member of Parliament for Whithorn, Fellow of the Royal Society, and later Baron of the Court of Exchequer following the Act of Union in 1707—Clerk maintained a sustained scholarly engagement with the ancient world. His published writings, including studies on Roman monuments and ancient writing implements, attest to the seriousness of his antiquarian pursuits and his deep familiarity with classical material culture.