With broad discus and short nozzle, low-relief scene with two lovers on a bed. 66 grams, 85 mm

From a London collection of erotica, formerly in the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK.

Cf. Bémont, C., Lampes en Terre Cuite, Paris, 2007, item D.187, for type.

With ribbed shoulder and short nozzle flanked by volute scrolls, low-relief scene with two lovers on a lectus couch. 68 grams, 98 mm

From a London collection of erotica, formerly in the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK.

Cf. Bémont, C., Lampes en Terre Cuite, Paris, 2007, item D.187, for type.

With a recessed panel on one side and scored frame with securing holes close to both long sides; eleven lines of inked text in Roman cursive containing the record of a legal document in a formulaic legal language; two lines of cursive text to reverse; supplied with six monochrome photographs of the tablet displaying the text to advantage. 11 grams, 15 x 8.1 cm

From an important London collection since 1975.
Accompanied by a collection of six 1970s photographs of the the tablet.

Cf. Rothenhöfer, P., Blänsdorf, Jürgen, Sana mente sanaque memoria testa-mentum feci: Eine testamentarische Verfügung vom 12. April 340 n. Chr., Gephyra 13, 2016, pp.153-163; Rothenhöfer, P., Neues zum Testament des Pomponius Maximus aus dem Jahr 371 n. Chr., (forthcoming); see also Masi Doria, C., Dal testamento di Pomponius Maximus: prospettive del diritto ereditario tardo antico, in: Isola, L. (ed.), Klauselgestaltungen in Römischen Testamenten, Berlin, 2022, pp.151-175; also see Thomas, J. D., Vindolanda: The Latin Writing Tablets, Britannia Monograph Series No 4, London, 1983, for examples of wooden tabulae re-used as writing surfaces; for examples of testamentary documents on wooden tablets that have survived, see FIRA III, p.47, for Anthony Silvanus from 142 AD, also see BGU VII 1695 for Safinnius Herminus; for another from Transfynydd, North Wales, see Arch. Camb. 150, pp.143-156; and see Bowman, A.K., Life and letters on the Roman frontier : Vindolanda and its people, London, 1994, for discussion of the uses of Roman writing tablets. Rothenhoefer, P., Neue römische Rechtsdokumente aus dem Byzacena-Archiv / New Roman Legal Documents from the Byzacena Archive, (forthcoming). The contract follows standard Roman legal formulae.

With a recessed panel on one side and scored frame with securing hole to one long side; seven lines of inked text in Roman cursive containing the record of a legal document in a formulaic legal language; two part-lines of cursive text to reverse; supplied with two monochrome photographs of the tablet displaying the text to advantage. 19.91 grams, 12.5 x 7.5 cm

From an important London collection since 1975.

Accompanied by a collection of two 1970s photographs of the the tablet.

Cf. Rothenhöfer, P., Blänsdorf, Jürgen, Sana mente sanaque memoria testa-mentum feci: Eine testamentarische Verfügung vom 12. April 340 n. Chr., Gephyra 13, 2016, pp.153-163; Rothenhöfer, P., Neues zum Testament des Pomponius Maximus aus dem Jahr 371 n. Chr., (forthcoming); see also Masi Doria, C., Dal testamento di Pomponius Maximus: prospettive del diritto ereditario tardo antico, in: Isola, L. (ed.), Klauselgestaltungen in Römischen Testamenten, Berlin, 2022, pp.151-175; also see Thomas, J. D., Vindolanda: The Latin Writing Tablets, Britannia Monograph Series No 4, London, 1983, for examples of wooden tabulae re-used as writing surfaces; for examples of testamentary documents on wooden tablets that have survived, see FIRA III, p.47, for Anthony Silvanus from 142 AD, also see BGU VII 1695 for Safinnius Herminus; for another from Transfynydd, North Wales, see Arch. Camb. 150, pp.143-156; and see Bowman, A.K., Life and letters on the Roman frontier : Vindolanda and its people, London, 1994, for discussion of the uses of Roman writing tablets. Rothenhoefer, P., Neue römische Rechtsdokumente aus dem Byzacena-Archiv / New Roman Legal Documents from the Byzacena Archive, (forthcoming). The contract follows standard Roman legal formulae.

Modelled in seated pose, wearing a stylised Corinthian helmet, breastplate with gorgoneion motif, draped stola; right hand extended to support a patera, left hand raised holding the shaft of a spear (absent); hollow to the reverse underside; repaired; mounted on a custom-made stand. 717 grams total, 91 mm including stand

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 67, for type.

Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 19th June-9th September 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.

Modelled standing erect wearing a floor-length peplos-style robe and palla draped above, gathered and secured at the waist; diadem to the hair dressed in a chignon and with a trumpet-shaped modius above, the left arm supporting a cornucopia; mounted on a custom-made stand. 287 grams total, 15.4 cm high including stand

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Cf. Boucher, S., Recherches sur les Bronzes Figurés de Gaule Pré-Romaine et Romaine, Rome, 1976, items 257, 259, 263, for type.

Carved in high-relief, a high-status female wearing a palla with a loosely draped stola draped from the left shoulder and arm and drawn across the hips; the left forearm resting on the head of a figure of Venus on a socle base, socket to accept separately carved left hand (absent); mounting sockets to neck and right hip; plain to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand. 23 kg total, 55.5 cm including stand

Private collection, England.

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 search certificate number no.12228-215645.

Cf. for the type Reinach, S., Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, Paris, 1897, p.332, no.4; p.378, no.5.

Fragment of a carved statue depicting a lifesize figure wearing a pleated and draped stola with left hand clenched in a fist and held at the chest; high-relief modelling of fabric; mounted on a custom-made stand. 23.5 kg total, 49.5 cm including stand

Ex Alison Barker (1951-2021) collection, Chichester, West Sussex, UK.
Private collection, England.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12229-215654.

Carved in the round, nude male torso resting against a tree (or jamb of an arch), with skilfully delineated musculature, in contrapposto pose; abraded. 3.27 kg, 23 cm.

Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12230-222368

Carved head of a prepubescent worshipper of Isis, with soft facial features, long nose, small downturned mouth, heavy-lidded eyes, the whole giving the face a sombre or mournful appearance; the hair textured to indicate a short cut and combed forward across the scalp, sidelock above the right ear; mounted on a 16th century carved breccia upper body with leather cuirass and pteruges to right shoulder, cloak draped across the shoulders and fastened at the clavicle on the right side with a disc-brooch; socle base; some restoration. 19.6 kg total, 51.5 cm including stand

North German private collection, 1970s, and thence by descent.
Antiquities, Bonhams, London, 5 October 2011, no.136.

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 search certificate number no.12185-222445.

See Bianchi Bandinelli, R., Roma, la fine dell’arte antica, Milano, 1970, fig.55, for Roman sculpture of the period; for another portrait head of a boy with short hair and sidelock, also dating to the 3rd century A.D. in Petworth House, Sig.Wyndham, Petworth, and for a discussion of the Horus lock in imperial iconography, see Gonzenbach, V., ‘Untersuchungen zu den Knabenweihen im Isiskult der römischen Kaiserzeit‘, in Antiquitas 1. 4, Bonn, 1957, pp.105-128, and 139ff., K.8 pl.9; Raeder, J., Die antiken Skulpturen in Petworth House, MAR 28 (2000), 216 ff. Kat. Nr. 83 [Arachne Sculpture Database no.1084685]; for related example of hairstyle in the British Museum see Walker, S. & Bierbrier, M., Ancient Faces. Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt, London, 1997, pp.192-193, no.261; for ancient sculptures reproduced or inserted in Renaissance marble see Fittschen, K., ‘Sul ruolo del ritratto antico nell’arte italiana’ in Setis, S., Memoria dell’antico nell’arte italiana, ed., vol.II, Turin, 1985; Favaretto, I., ‘La fortuna del ritratto antico nelle collezione venete di antichità: originali, copie e invenzione,’ in Bolletino d’Arte LXXVIII, no.79, May-June, 1993, pp.68-72; Bava, A.M., Le Meraviglie del mondo, le collezioni di Carlo Emanuele I di Savoia, Genova, 2016, p.233, fig.86.

Exhibited at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, 21 January-6 March 1977; published in Hornbostel, W., Kunst der Antike, Schätze aus norddeutschem Privatbesitz, Hamburg, 1977, pp. 55-56, no. 35.

The child is depicted as a worshipper of Isis with the right side of the head signalling that the boy was a devotee of the goddess’s cult. The head of the boy is probably a funerary portrait, and it is clearly in the first half of 3rd century style. Its resemblance to the portrait of Gordian III on the so-called sarcophagus of Acilia is impressive, so much so that this was probably the reason for which the head was incorporated within a military bust in the 16th century.

Modelled in the round and originally part of a monumental statue, the naturalistic right foot encased in a trochades leather sandal with median reversed tongue secured with side straps and thick looped laces; the thick platform sole slightly curved, toes and nails well defined; mounted on a substantial custom-made display stand. 5.84 kg total, foot: 30 cm wide

German art market.
European private collection, 1970s-early 2000s.
Acquired from the above; thence by descent.
Private collection, London, UK.

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 search certificate number no.12176-221443.

Cf. Racinet, A., The complete costume history, from ancient times to 19th century, Köln, 2003, pp.52-53, nos.23 and 36; 76-77, nos.10, 24, 38, 44 for similar footwear; Sebesta, J.L., and Bonfante, L., The World of Roman Costume, Madison, 2001; a similar type of footwear appears on a Roman bronze statue, today in Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, acc. no. 1986.5, believed to portray Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the guise of a simple itinerant philosopher rather than as a general or a nobleman; another example appears on a huge statue from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, British Museum accession no.1857,1220.232, reconstructed from more than seventy fragments recovered from the site.

The detailed bronze foot with a possible variant of the Greek trochades sandal, known to be a traveller's sandal, is all that remains of the once monumental statue. The trochades was a sturdy traveller's open boot of Greek origin with a flat sole. In the Consular Age it was also used by officers and guardsmen. Roman sandals consisted usually of a leather sole attached to the foot with interlacing thongs.

Modelled in the round as a figure of an eagle perching with its head turned to the right; on its back, the god Mercury with caduceus on his left arm and petasos on his head; mounted on a custom-made stand. 63.3 grams total, 68 mm including stand

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 51 (Mercury with caduceus).

The figure of the messenger-god Mercury seated on the pinion of the eagle possibly relates to a mythic incident. Similar imagery was used in respect of Jupiter in scenes where the god was supposed to welcome a newly-deified emperor into the pantheon: see Metropolitan Museum of Art accession no. 32.142.2, for a sardonyx instance of this motif.