LOT 0050

Greek Bronze Figure of a Bound Captive

HELLENISTIC, 2ND CENTURY B.C.

6 5/8 in. (491 grams, 17 cm including stand).

Modelled in the round nude male standing with hands bound behind his back; with short cropped hair and slender figure; left foot absent; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Ex S.K. collection.
Acquired on the German art market, July 1995.

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 a search certificate number no.12518-232076.

Cf. Bienkoski, P., Les Celtes dans les arts mineurs Gréco-Romains, avec des recherches iconographiques sur quelques autres peoples barbares, Cracovie, 1928, figs.11, 87.

The character's hairstyle of the statuette is simple, and his hair is short, not treated with chalk like that of the famous ‘dying Galatian’ from Pergamon. The gaze is fixed on the distance, while the bony, beardless, long-limbed figure conveys the prisoner's energy. The nose here takes on a strong characteristic together with the broad jaw, which is also recognisable in later statuettes of Roman age. These characteristics, combined with those of nudity, allow us to recognise the figure of the prisoner as a Celtic warrior.