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_900x900.jpg "Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis")
_200x200.jpg "Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis")
.jpg "Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis")
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 Decorated and Inscribed Animal Hilt
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Openwork rectangular bifacial dagger- or knife-hilt with lobe pommel and blade-socket; Side A: two rectangular openwork panels, above an inverted openwork inscription 'VTERE FELIX' and below two opposed running hounds; Side B: two opposed running hounds above inverted inscription: 'CONSTANTI' (use [this] with good fortune for Constantine). 87 grams, 11 cm
Private collection 1990s. Ex London, UK, gallery. -
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Theatre Masks
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
Polished to an oval shape, engraved with eight theatre masks in two rows; one row with three tragic masks in profile, one depicting a satyr, and a tragic mask of an old man shown frontally; the opposing row with a tragic mask of an old man in profile, a Bacchus mask, a mask of a bearded man wearing a cap shown in three-quarter view, and a mask of a young hero facing the centre. 2.51 grams, 22.02 mm
From the collection of a late London, UK, gentleman, 1980s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12033-214124.
The masks represented seem to be relevant to the typologies of the 'new comedy', an image that appears on cameos and gems since the Augustan era. -
Roman Bronze Handle with Winged Lion and Mask
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,405
D-section swept-curve handle, the upper end developing to the foreparts of a winged lion with forelegs bent and paws resting on the vessel's rim, wings folded to the flanks; high-relief foliage detailing to the outer face of the handle; acanthus leaf to the lower end developing to a facing bearded mask of a satyr; mounted on a custom-made stand. 452 grams total, 13 cm high (17 cm high including stand)
Acquired between 1980-1983. From the 'Empire' collection, an important UK private collection of seals.
Usually this type of handles decorated ovoid-shaped oinochoai, a type of vase widespread in Southern Italy. Numerous specimens in the National Museum of Archaeology, Naples present panther or horse protomes, as do some provincial specimens from Gaul. Particular and unusual here is the lion-griffin, which refers to Greek-Egyptian motifs, perhaps connected to the cult of Isis-Serapis.
