A sculptural form consisting of a head, bust, or partial figure supported by or emerging from a squared or tapering pillar, originally associated with the Greek god Hermes.
A herm is a sculptural form consisting of a head, bust, or partial figure supported by, or appearing to emerge from, a squared or tapering pillar. The form originated in ancient Greece and was originally associated especially with representations of the god Hermes.
Herms were used as boundary markers, roadside monuments, architectural ornaments, and commemorative forms. The type was revived and adapted in Roman, Renaissance, Baroque, and later European sculpture and architecture.
Etymology
From Greek herma, associated with Hermes, the Greek god whose head was traditionally represented on early boundary pillars.
Sculptor Notes
The herm is useful to sculptors because it occupies a middle ground between portrait bust, architectural support, and freestanding figure. Its transition from organic form into a geometric shaft can be treated as either a sharp break or a gradual emergence.
References
https://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?subjectid=300047170