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_900x900.jpg "Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis")
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LOT 0155
Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
11 5/8 in. (1.4 kg, 29.5 cm high).
With luxuriant long wavy hair and characteristic vertical locks at the forehead, full beard with two large ringlets below the chin, wearing a chiton and a himation draped over the left shoulder, the head surmounted by a corn modius decorated with olive branch in relief, the bust supported on the back of an eagle standing atop an orb with spread wings, the eagle with its head slightly turned to the left, the feathers finely detailed; a finial from a staff or a ceremonial standard.
ProvenanceEx private collection, South Germany, 1980.
with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 13 December 2003, no.74.
with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2012, no.239 (US $120,000-180,000).
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.11789-206489.
Cf. a similar bust in the Virginia Museum of fine Arts, inventory no.98.23; another similar piece, but with the eagle upon the polos, in 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.217; for a bronze bust without eagle see the bust of Zeus Serapis in the Saint Louis Art Museum, inv. no. 69:1923.
FootnotesThe Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) modelled many of his portraits based on Serapis. But it was under Hadrian that the refurbishment of the statue in the Serapeum increased the demand for small-scale images, like this one, probably made during his reign and used atop of a processional sceptre or standard for the cult of the god.
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
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0155
Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000€69,600 - 92,800 (for guidance only)$81,000 - 108,000 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Vulcan Statuette
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Standing wearing a tunic draped from the left shoulder and a conical hat, left arm extended at shoulder-height; mounted on a custom-made stand. 110 grams total, 71 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. -
Roman Inked Wooden Tablet, a Legal Document from the Rascotiano Estate
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13,000
A reused tablet with a recessed panel on one side, the last tablet of a legal document which consisted of two (diptychon) or three tablets (triptychon); ten black inked lines of New Roman cursive script, the end of a record of a transaction in a highly formulaic legal language, confirmed between heirs and elders (heredes et seniores), negotiated on an estate called Rascotiano; one edge irregular, pierced for addition of a thong or string. 23.7 grams, 12.3 x 12.5 cm
From an important London collection since 1975. Accompanied by a collection of eighteen 1970s photographs of the the tablet.
The contract follows standard Roman legal formulae. -
Roman Bronze Laying Panther Statuette
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Modelled in the round laying flat on its side with forelegs extended; low-relief collar to the neck. 25 grams, 38 mm
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.
The presence of the collar suggests that the model represents a panther used in the gladiatorial animal-fighting games.
