Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0557
Eastern Roman Bronze Dragon Head Finial
LATE 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 in. (17 grams, 51 mm).
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing, probably a ladle finial.
Provenance
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Roman Aqua-Coloured Blue Glass Bead Collection
Late 1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £169
Comprising beads of mixed shapes and sizes, including tubular, oblate and urn-shaped; each pierced for stringing. 90.2 grams total, 12-24 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s. -
Roman Gold Ring with Medusa Cameo
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
With facetted shoulders, D-shaped cell enclosing a carved Medusa bust modelled in the round. 5.83 grams, 22.07 mm overall, 17.23 mm internal diameter (approximate size British H 1/2, USA 4, Europe 6.81, Japan 6)
From the collection of a Cambridge lady, 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11863-207049. -
Roman Marble Head of a Youth
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,420
Naturalistically modelled in the round, large and deep eyes with a thoughtful expression under the heavy eyelids; lips lightly profiled and parted; the back and lower part roughly treated indicating that it was prepared to be installed in a hollow or part of a relief; mounted on a custom-made display base. 4.59 kg total, 25 cm high including stand
Ex private Swiss collection, prior to the late 1980s. Acquired at Camels-Cohen Auction 228, Paris, France, 16 & 17 September 2003, lot 324. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by an academic report by Professor Neritan Ceka. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11806-206511.
The realistic style of treatment of the portrait and the preservation of classical features, in the examples of Cicero, Pompeius, or Agrippa, lead us to the last period of Roman republican portraiture, around the middle of the 1st century B.C. On the other hand, the frontal symmetry of the face, the serious expression of the eyes and the hair behind the neck, refer to the Greek sculpture of the Rigorous Style, from which the presentation of the portrait may have been inspired. These features could suggest also dating of the portrait to the last decades of the rule of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty in Rome, when there is a return to the realistic tradition of the portrait, as well as to the hairstyle with the parallel curls of the hair on the forehead in the figures, as in the portrait of Emperor Caligula (37-41 A.D.).
