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LOT 0052
Hellenistic Bronze Statuette of an Alexandrian Dancing Dwarf
1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
5 7/8 in. (295 grams total, 15 cm high imcluding stand).
In an active pose with both legs bent and left arm raised dramatically, head tilted to the left; exaggerated facial features, short trimmed hair, slim body with developed pectoral muscles and pronounced kyphosis; mounted on a columnar stand.
ProvenanceBelgian private art collection of M.A., Brussels, Belgium, 1995.
with Gorny and Mosch, 14 December 2011, no.82.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13330-258951.
Cf. bronze figure of a dwarfd dancing in the British Museum under accession no. 1875,0517.103; cf. also Bolla, M., ‘Nani e pigmei nella piccola plastica in bronzo dell’Italia Settentrionale’ in Leger, C., Raux, S., Des objects et des hommes, Ėtudes offertes a Michel Feugère, Drémil-Lafage, 2021, pp.163-171, fig.4, for the image of a dancing dwarf.
FootnotesSuch figures are often described as ‘grotesques’, yet typically constituted overstated representations of people with dwarfism. Such individuals are invariably shown with exaggerated features such as pot bellies, hunched backs, bald heads, large phalli and angry facial expressions.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0052
Hellenistic Bronze Statuette of an Alexandrian Dancing Dwarf
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£1,500 (EUR 1,740; USD 2,025) +BP*
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Greek Terracotta Rhyton of a Goddess
3rd-2nd century B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
With flanged and stepped rim, tapering curved body, figural finial of the goddess with diadem; bands of red and cream geometric detail to the rim and upper body, red wave patterns to the inner face; the goddess modelled with carefully dressed hair and floral diadem, ringlets cascading to her collar bone, alert facial expression with almond-shaped eyes and prominent nose, with C-shaped billetted collar and chiton, cupping her left breast in her right hand; mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.25 kg, 24 cm
Private collection, London, UK; formed 1970s-1980s. 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.13312-258233.
It is challenging to identify the divinity represented on our vessel: it can be associated with Ariadne, wife of the god Dionysus, but also with a Parthian goddess such as Anahita. She was a Zoroastrian goddess associated with water, fertility, and wisdom, widely venerated across the Parthian Empire and often invoked alongside Ahura Mazda in royal and religious inscriptions. Rhyta in her likeness, typically terminating in a zoomorphic or divine protome, were used as ceremonial drinking vessels, reflecting Anahita's close association with libation and purification rites. -
Greek Terracotta Oil Lamp
Hellenistic, circa 3rd-2nd century B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Rounded body with large central filler hole and pointed lug on the shoulder, the rim with a low-relief ovolo decoration, elongated nozzle with scooped nozzle; low basal ring. 103 grams, 99 mm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Greek Corinthian Terracotta Alabastron
Archaic Period, circa 600-575 B.B.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Ovoid body, short neck, disc-shaped rim, a vestigial handle with suspension hole, decorated with linear motifs such as tongues, lines and dots, all organised in zones. 48.3 grams, 74 mm
From the private collection of a Sussex, UK, gentleman.
