LOT 0137

Large Roman Bronze Chariot or Lectica Mount of Cupid

2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

8 in. (1.79 kg, 19.9 cm).

Modelled in the round hollow-formed figure of Cupid standing nude emerging from a flower, with dressed curly hair bound into a forelock, small dorsal wings on the shoulders, a recurved bow in his left hand and an arrow supported on his right forearm; looped handles to the rear and stepped base below.

From the collection of J-Ph, Mariaud de Serres, Paris, France, 1990s.
Piasa Auctions, 17-18 March 2003, no.584.
Private collection, Europe.

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.13215-249253.
Accompanied by a copy of French passport no.237039.

Cf. for similar cart appliqués, Veselin I.I., Funeral complexes with carts in the Roman province of Thrace (mid 1st – 3rd c.), Sofia, 2018, pl.4, nos.2.6.2.3.1-2.6.2.3.4; pls.19-20 especially no.5.9.8.7 (Eros); for another appliqué with an Eros statuette surmounting a squared pedestal see a chariot element from Souk El Arba Du Gharb, in Boube-Picot, Les Bronzes Antiques du Maroc, III, les Chars et l’Attelage, Rabat, 1980, no.494, p.283-284.

These prismatic fittings covered the ends of the wooden beams, reinforcing the floor of the undercarriage on both long sides. The heavy and ornate nature of these accessories suggests they were originally attached to a more substantial vehicle such as a pilentum (used to transport aristocrats on state occasions), a carruca (for transporting emperors and aristocratic matrons) or even a thensa (a ceremonial chariot used to transport deities to the imperial games) or a lectica (portable bed for patricii and matronae). Contemporary sources describe ornate inlay, rare woods and metalwork incorporated into these vehicles, and, probably, the present fitting would originally have been gilded.