A silver-gilt strap tongue from military belt, rectangular shape with soldered bead on the back, a repoussé work representing Hercules, naked and covered only by a mantle, killing the Nemean lion, a palm of victory under the feet of the hero, a dog attacking the lion from above, foliage around the scene. 18.5 grams, 53 mm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

See Sommer, M., Die Gürtel und Gürtelbeschläge des 4. und 5. Jahrhunderts im römischen Reich, Bonner Hefte zur Vorgeschichte, 22, Bonn, 1980 (1984), pl.54, 11.

The belt fitting finds parallels with parts of belt from Asia Minor, today at the British Museum, inv. EC 252-254. These kind of plates, decorative and engraved with classical scenes, can be dated possibly to the age of Theodosius I. The quality of decoration can support the thesis of their belonging to officers of the Comitatus (the Imperial mobile army).

A lozengiform plate brooch with sub-circular lugs to each corner and shallow decorative notching along each straight edge, the lugs with a red enamel fill, the centre displaying a millefiori panel composed of square tiles alternating between red squares within a yellow border and a dark blue cross with red centre in a red border; pin lug, pin and catchplate to reverse. 9.52 grams, 27 mm

Ex European collection.
Acquired in the mid 1990s.
Property of a Harrow, UK, gentleman.

Cf. Hattatt, R., A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches, Oxbow Books, 2000, fig.573, for type; cf. The British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme Database, record ids. SOM-1FBF61 and LVPL-4824A4, for very similar examples.

A bronze head formed as that of a Roman lady of noble rank, with an oval-shaped face, semi-naturalistic facial features and elaborately dressed hair; hollow reverse. 55.5 grams, 42 mm

Acquired early 2000s.
Property of a Birmingham, UK, collector.
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.

The upper part of a female torso, carved in marble, wearing a draped robe tied at the waist; flat reverse. 5.3 kg, 29 cm wide

Acquired early 1990s.
Ex private American collection; thence by descent.
Private Swiss collection since 1998.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 74.51.2490, for a similar example classified as Roman, Cypriot, 1st century A.D.

The figure is wearing a Greek peplos tied at the waist in such a way as to accentuate the breasts.

A carved marble herm boundary marker carved in the round as the bust of an adult male wearing a conical cap and with a full beard; dorsal pillar terminating behind the head. 7.3 kg, 31.5 cm high

French collection, 1960s-early 2000s.
From an important Paris gallery, France.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11629-199364.

Possibly an architectural element or herm: herma (Ancient Greek: ἑρμῆς, usually called a 'herm' in English), is a sculptured stone block with a head and often a chest above an undecorated lower section on which male genitals may additionally be carved. From the Neolithic period onwards, in parts of Europe, divinities were worshipped in the form of either a heap of stones (cairn) or a wooden column. Piles of stones were created beside roads and at the borders of fields as they were cleared of pebbles, and religious respect was shown through the custom of each passer-by throwing a stone on the heap or offering a libation. In due course, the addition of a carved head (and phallus) to the column encouraged the belief that these monuments were especially favoured by divinities.

An acephalic seated marble dog carved in the round with anatomical detailing; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 24.4 kg total, 46 cm high including stand

Ex Mr U.C. collection, Belgium, formed in the 1950s.
English private collection.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11630-199755.

Cf. The British Museum, museum number 1805,0703.8, for the similarly-modelled Townley greyhounds.

A fragment of a carved limestone scene depicting a seated musician wearing a toga virilis draped to his shoulder and tucked at the waist, hanging over his bent knee supporting a lyre or cithara with seven strings. 1.98 kg, 17 cm

Ex Ingrid McAlpine, 1939-2018, London and Epsom, UK.

A bronze drapery fragment modelling the folds of the fabric in relief, presumably once forming part of a larger statue; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 3.1 kg total, 42.2 cm high including stand

Acquired 1980s-early 1990s.
Ex private German collection.
English private collection.

A skilfully carved life-size marble head of a female (possibly Artemis, a Muse or an Amazon) with centrally parted hair composed of wavy strands and tied in a ponytail at the back; serene facial expression, almond-shaped eyes and small mouth with slightly parted lips; some restoration; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 14 kg total, 38 cm high including stand

Ex private collection, Monaco, 1960s-1970s.
Acquired from the Monaco Fine Arts on 4th November 1992.
Private collection of Mr & Mrs Daniel, Monaco.
Acquired by the present owner from David Aaron Gallery in 2019.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by searcher certificate number no.11569-197722.

Cf. Felletti Maj, B.M., Museo Nazionale Romano, I Ritratti, Roma, 1953; Bianchi Bandinelli, R., L'arte Romana nel centro del potere, dalle origini alla fine del II secolo d.C., Roma, 1969; Bieber, M., Ancient Copies. Contributions to the History of Greek and Roman Art, New York, 1977, p.88, pls.60-61; Fittschen K., Zanker P., Le sculture del Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna, La collezione Marsili, Comune di Bologna, Bologna, 1986; Boardman, J., Griechische Plastik. Die spätklassische Zeit, Mainz, 1998, pp.100ff.; Fuchs, W., Die Skulptur der Griechen, München, 1993, pp.221ff.; Agnoli, N., Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Palestrina, Le sculture, Roma, 2002; Vout, C., ‘Hadrian, Hellenism, and the Social History of Art’, in Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, Third Series, Vol.18, No.1, Spring-Summer 2010, pp.55-78.

The youthful head seems to be based on the Greek Attic Artemis Colonna type of the 4th century B.C. The composition of the head is powerful with a serene countenance, its physiognomy replete with the idealised quality characteristic of Greek classical sculpture. This classic influence is best seen in the perfect almond- shaped eyes with their sharply carved lids as well as the smooth contour of the face. The rich handling of the coiffure and the smooth quality of the face can suggest a date sometime during the Hadrianic (117 to 138 A.D.) or early Antonine periods.

A pottery lamp with triangular ornament handle with palmette above and acanthus leaves below, plain ring behind, concave discus with central filling-hole, two double-volute round tipped nozzles with conspicuous knobs, flat base-ring marked off by two circular grooves. 139 grams, 19.5 cm wide

From a 19th century German collection.
Acquired in the 1990s.
Ex London, UK, collection.

See Bussière, J., Lindros Wohl, B., Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 2017, p.112, no.157 and 160, for the type.

This lamp belongs to the classification of Loeschcke type III (Bailey type D). The type is characterised by a handle ornament that is either figurative or in the shape of a crescent, with decorated triangle, or two-lobed bud; and a usually round-tipped volute-nozzle, exceptionally with angular tip. Lamps may have one or two, or sometimes more nozzles. This type is typical of the Late Neronian-Flavian period.

A bronze statuette of a bound Mauritanian prisoner with his hands tied behind his back, naked body with exposed genitals, hair arranged in tight curls. 40 grams, 60 mm high

Acquire in the 1990s.
Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, items 1003-1010, especially 1005, for type.

The face of this bound barbarian, who is forced into a squatting position by the way he is bound, is framed by rich locks betraying his Moorish origin. Numerous statuettes of bound barbarians have been found at the Empire’s outer boundaries. Many have vertical and horizontal bores, which have led to the interpretation that they were ornaments for horse bridles or snaffle fittings.

A carved marble head with large lentoid eyes and wavy hair; mounted on a custom-made stand. 8.9 kg total, 37 cm high including stand

French collection, 1960s-early 2000s.
From an important Paris gallery, France.

Cf. similar style of portraits in Bianchi Bandinelli, R., Roma, la fine dell'arte antica, Milano, 1970, figs. 340-346; Auinger, J., Aurenhammer, M., 'Antik Donemin Sonunda Ephesos Heykeltrasligi (Ephesos Sculpture at the end of the Antiquity)' in Daim, F., Ladstatter, S., Bizans Döneminde Ephesos (Ephesus in the Byzantine Period), Istanbul, 2011, pp.163-195, figs.22, 23, 24.

A series of portrait heads, busts and marble statues from the 5th-6th century A.D. Ephesus, show great affinity with this sculpture. This typology of portraits shows how the late Roman art progressed in the search for a characterisation. The hair is deeply worked with a drill creating a chiaroscuro and immobile mass, the face is treated with large expressive folds, making this head a magnificent expression of late Imperial Roman art.