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LOT 0128
Late Roman Provincial Marble Head
3RD-6TH CENTURY A.D.
14 1/2 in. (8.9 kg total, 37 cm high including stand).
A carved marble head with large lentoid eyes and wavy hair; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenanceFrench collection, 1960s-early 2000s.
From an important Paris gallery, France.
Cf. similar style of portraits in Bianchi Bandinelli, R., Roma, la fine dell'arte antica, Milano, 1970, figs. 340-346; Auinger, J., Aurenhammer, M., 'Antik Donemin Sonunda Ephesos Heykeltrasligi (Ephesos Sculpture at the end of the Antiquity)' in Daim, F., Ladstatter, S., Bizans Döneminde Ephesos (Ephesus in the Byzantine Period), Istanbul, 2011, pp.163-195, figs.22, 23, 24.
FootnotesA series of portrait heads, busts and marble statues from the 5th-6th century A.D. Ephesus, show great affinity with this sculpture. This typology of portraits shows how the late Roman art progressed in the search for a characterisation. The hair is deeply worked with a drill creating a chiaroscuro and immobile mass, the face is treated with large expressive folds, making this head a magnificent expression of late Imperial Roman art.
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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Roman Marble Statue Fragment with Feet
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
A marble statue fragment presenting the hem of a pleated robe, the sandaled feet of the figure emerging from beneath, with semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing, resting on a plain base. 7.1 kg, 24 cm
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11624-198973. -
Roman Triclinium Finial Set
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
A set of four copper-alloy triclinium (bed) finials, each with a bell-shaped body and baluster style finial; hollow to base. 1.18 kg total, 9.6-10.1 cm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
The Romans, like the Greeks, ate whilst reclined on beds. The eating bed (lectus triclinaris) was a luxury furniture item crafted by carpenters. From the 2nd century B.C., Romans started to create 'lecti aerati, inargentati, inaurati, eborati, testudinei,' i.e. beds made of wood and covered with bronze, silver, gold and ivory fittings (as in our specimens) or with scales of other precious material. Such elements were sometimes sculpted in the shape of an animal protome, or were simply bell-shaped, like our specimens. -
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Roman Bronze Bear Fitting
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £278
A bronze furniture fitting formed as a square base with gusseted profile, a bear cub crouching on the upper face with one forepaw raised; open to the rear and underside. 108 grams, 53 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. Collection of a Suffolk, UK, gentleman.
