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LOT 0338
Life-Size Stone Head of a Centaur
18TH CENTURY A.D.
17 3/4 in. (21.4 kg, 45 cm high).
Carved in the round bust depicting a faun or centaur with a youthful face; the hair falling in exuberant curls over the goat-like ears, the mouth parted in laughter, the eyes set beneath a stern brow; on an integral pedestal base with repair to reverse.
ProvenancePrivate collection, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13392-259012.
Cf. Haskell, F. and Penny, N., Taste and the Antique, The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900, London, 1982, pp.176-9.
FootnotesMonumental marble centaurs were excavated together at Hadrian's Villa in December 1736. Pope Clement XIII secured them for the Capitoline Museum, where they remain to this day. Bronze reproductions of the famous centaurs were very much in vogue amongst the Grand Tour travellers of the 18th century.
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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Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Scenes of the Life of the Prophet Elijah
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
With blue champlevé enamel, depicting scenes of the life of Prophet Elijah: on the bottom right Elijah rolling up his mantle and dividing the waters of the Jordan, in front of his disciple Elisha; on the bottom left Elijah watched over by the Angel; on the top right Elijah ascending to heaven on a Chariot of Fire, assisted by the hand of God; on the left Elijah, covered by his mantle, fed by ravens; frame with blue enamel over gilded pseudo-vegetal decorations. 585 grams, 14.3 cm
Acquired from Chris Martin-Zakheim, Iconastas, 5 Piccadilly Arcade, London SW1. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s.
The icon represents the Ascension of the prophet Elijah and other scenes from his life. Elijah is ascending to heaven in a fiery chariot drawn by horses, leaving his mantle to his disciple Elisha, symbolising the transmission of his prophetic mission. Among the great figures of the Bible, the prophet Elijah was one of the most venerated figures in Orthodoxy. -
Post Medieval Silver Betel Container
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Hanging chatelaine with a hinged hexagonal container suspended from one side and three grooming tools on the other end. 18.45 grams, 11.3 cm
Acquired on the European art market. -
Chalcedony and Silver-Gilt Bust of the Emperor Vespasian
Italy, 17th-18th century A.D.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
The head, carved from pale green chalcedony, polished to a smooth lustre and with a drilled aperture at the crown, the hair in tight curls around the nape and crown; the silver-gilt torso dressed in a draped toga carefully chased with deep folds and traces of gilding across the high points; mounted on a later patinated bronze column stand in the neoclassical manner. 208 grams total, 10.9 cm high including stand
Acquired on the European art market.
This small-scale portrait evokes the Roman tradition of imperial portraiture and the early modern fascination with the ancient world. From the seventeenth century onwards, artists and collectors revived classical subjects through hardstone and gilt-metal compositions, often intended for display in Kunstkammer or Grand Tour contexts. The combination of a reused ancient or earlier element with a later mount was a practice typical of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, reflecting the period’s reverence for antiquity and its imaginative recontextualisation of ancient forms.
