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LOT 0197
Eastern Roman Head of a Priest
PALMYRA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY A.D.
10 1/2 in. (7.5 kg total, 26.5 cm including stand).
Carved in the half-round wearing flat-topped priest's cap with laurel wreath detailing and medallion, naïve facial features with exaggerated lentoid eyes and soft modelled cheeks and mouth; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenancePreviously in the private collection of Mr Pierre Bart (1889-1964), an official of the French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon (1919-1936), and delegate to the Lebanese government until 1946.
Thence by descent in 1964 to his daughter Lucienne Amirault who brought the inherited collection with her to France from Beirut on 11th October 1976.
Accompanied by inventory list from 11 October 1976.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous six page catalogue document.
Accompanied by a copy of a signed Art Loss Register declaration no.S00218486.
Accompanied by French cultural passport no.233598.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12399-225440.
Mobilier d’un Appartement Parisien, Chayette & Cheval, Paris, 28 January 2022, no. 128.
LiteratureCf. similar item in the British Museum under accession no. 1889,1012.8; Michalowski, K., Palmyre, Fouilles Polonaises, 1960, Warszawa-Paris, 1962, fig.192, for type.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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
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Opening Bid: £200
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Modelled nude, standing on an ellipsoid base with mantle to the left shoulder and caduceus supported by the left arm, item (perhaps a marsupium) in the right hand, winged petasos to the head with bird perched above the left ear; mounted on a custom-made stand. 38.5 grams total, 82 mm including base
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Round-section bangle with iridescent surface. 7.34 grams, 53 mm
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