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LOT 0130
Life-Size Roman Marble Sleeping Girl from a Sarcophagus Lid
2ND CENTURY A.D.
43 1/4 in. (46 in.) (104 kg, 110 cm long (120 kg, 117 cm including stand)).
Modelled in the half-round, nude with eyelids half-closed in sleep; a drapery partly covering the head and wrapping around the lower body under the hips; the hairstyle similar to those of the Antonine Dynasty, the peaceful face supported by the hands and the ear pierced to accept an earring; iron reinforcing rod to the feet and the right arm's armilla a later replacement; upper head restored in Parian marble.
ProvenanceAcquired from G. Rihani, 1987.
English private collection.
Accompanied by a copy of the purchase invoice, 2 July 1987.
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.12231-218595
Cf. a similar statue of a sleeping girl in Galleria Borghese, Rome, inv.no.XIV, 140-160 A.D. in Moreno, P., Stefani, Ch., Galleria Borghese, Milano, 2000, p.38, n.6a.
FootnotesThe girl shows exotic features, evocative of Roman North Africa, where a mixed Romano-Berber population lived in one of the richest provinces of the Empire. However, the hairstyle refers to those of the Antonine Dynasty, such as the portraits of the Empress Faustina the Elder. It represents probably a sarcophagus lid of a young noble girl, commissioned by her loving parents. Some restorations, today still visible, were done in ancient times: an iron rod at the feet for reinforcement, the armilla on the right arm sculpted at a later stage, the hole in the ear for the insertion of a lost metal or glass earring, the upper part of the head restored in antique with a portion of Parian marble. The sculpture is a Roman work, but it was inspired by a Hellenistic model, probably from Pergamon.
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LOT 0130
Life-Size Roman Marble Sleeping Girl from a Sarcophagus Lid
Sold for (Inc. bp): £20,800
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Roman Bronze Bear-Head Dagger Pommel
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Hollow-formed with acute lower jaw, triangular muzzle, gusset and rounded rim to the socket-mouth. 29.5 grams, 44 mm
Property of a Gloucestershire, UK, collector. Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman.
The function of the animal head terminal in the form of a stylised eagle or griffin head found in the canabae at Caerleon was interpreted as a possible pommel for a sword or other weapon due to the rectangular hole at the top of the head for a tang or other attachment. -
Romano-Celtic Bronze Statuette of a Warrior Wearing Torc
Circa 1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Modelled in the round, standing with right leg bent, right arm raised and left extended before the body; with thick tousled hair, exaggerated torc to the neck, jacket with incised vertical lines, tight-fitting trousers and ankle-boots. 53 grams total, 67 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 pose of the figure suggests that he is in the action of brandishing a weapon, or possibly holding the reins of a team of horses pulling a chariot. Caesar mentions the expert use of the war-chariot by the Britons (Conquest of Gaul, IV.33). The padded garment suggests a Celtic auxiliary in the Roman army. -
Large Eastern Roman Bronze Bust-Shaped Steelyard Weight
Circa 3rd-4th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £715
Modelled in the round as a facing female with head turned slightly right, with semi-naturalistic facial detailing and dressed hair; lead-filled. 4.2 kg, 13.5 cm high
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
Steelyard weights in the form of human or deities' faces were not uncommon in the Roman period (see SWYOR-DA4426, OXON-4391B5, HAMP-BD4D67 and NARC-7A7B81 on the PAS). These were generally filled with lead and had iron or copper suspension loops projecting from the top of the head.