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LOT 0926
Life-Size Roman Marble Finger Fragments
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
2 - 2 7/8 in. (148 grams total, 52-74 mm).
Two fragments of fingers from a statue, the smaller with attachment points for an object. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx M. Cummings collection, Lincolnshire, UK, 1990s.
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 Silver Military Ring with Inscription
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
With facetted hoop and rectangular plaque, legend 'DME / RGVR' (D(eo) ME/RCVRI(o) (RI in ligature): ‘To the god Mercury), in rustic capitals. 10.59 grams, 25.88 mm overall, 21.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.
The inscription is to be segmented 'D MERGVR for D[EO] MERGVR[IO]' meaning '(dedicated) to the god Mercury'. A common formula for Roman inscriptions in Britain. -
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Roman Bronze Harpocrates Statuette
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
Modelled nude in advancing pose with right arm bent across the body and fist clenched to support an attribute (absent); the facial details in light relief and small forelock to the brow; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 231 grams total, 12 cm high 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.
The cult of Harpocrates, began in Ptolemaic times, expanding considerably in the Imperial Roman period, and absorbing influences from the cult of ram of Mendes, the ithyphallic Min, the crocodile god Sobek, and Hercules. The missing left hand probably held a small cornucopia. -
Roman Bronze Strigil
2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
With C-section profile to the blade, rectangular handle with flare to the upper end, old notch to one edge, repaired. 46 grams, 19 cm
Ex collection Dr. Kuhn-Lucht, Germany. with Kölner Munzkabinett, Cologne, before 2016. Private European collection.
An emblematic instrument of the ancient sporting world, the strigil was mainly used by athletes as a scraper for personal hygiene. After training, which took place in the gymnasiums on tracks and arenas covered with sand, athletes and young people rubbed their skin with olive oil. They then used one of these distinctive scrapers remove the sand-oil mixture before washing in water. These actions are reproduced on famous statues (including Apoxyomenos, one of Lysippus’ masterpieces), on reliefs (such as funerary steles) as well as on countless vase paintings. In Attic and Italian red-figure imagery, the strigil is often depicted on perfume vases, like the aryballos and alabastron.
