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LOT 0192
Hellenistic or Roman Bronze Grotesque Figure
ALEXANDRIA, 1ST CENTURY B.C.-3RD CENTURY A.D.
4 1/2 in. (257 grams total, 11.5cm including stand).
Modelled standing nude in a contorted pose with left arm raised and right hand on the hip, head tilted; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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 193; cf. Mitten, D.G., Doeringer, S.F., Master Bronzes from the Classical World, Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum/City Museum of Saint Louis/Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1967-1968, no.117, p.119, for similar.
FootnotesRolland (p.104) notes that such grotesque 'pygmy' figures may have been intended as caricatures. They were already produced in Alexandria since the 1st century B.C., and considered to be charms against the evil eye. Beautiful statuettes of this typology are well known from the Roman period, perhaps produced in the workshops of Alexandria, Egypt, on the occasion of the visit of the Emperor Caracalla.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0192
Hellenistic or Roman Bronze Grotesque Figure
Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
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Roman Bronze Bound Captive Mount
Late 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Depicted as a bearded man, seated and naked with rope binding the hands together and extending around the neck and ankles; pierced vertically at the shoulders; probably a sliding mount for a thong or cord; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 59 grams total, 59 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.
Statuettes of foreign ‘barbarian’ prisoners of this type have been found along the Danube. Their spread coincides with the Marcomannic wars of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The hairstyle of this warrior has parallels with the warriors depicted on the contemporary Sarcophagus of Portonaccio, which represents a battle between Romans and Marcomanni. -
Late Roman Iridescent Blue Bracelet
4th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Round-section bangle with iridescent surface. 7.34 grams, 53 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Massive Roman Pannonian Bronze Bow Brooch
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Flügelfibeln type bow-brooch with spring and pin, trumpet-shaped finial with opposed knops on the curved horns, pointilé detailing to the spine. long catchplate with pierced tracery; reinforcing strip applied in antiquity. 73 grams, 19 cm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
