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LOT 0127
Marble Statue of a Goddess
ROMAN, 3RD CENTURY A.D. OR LATER
41 in. (146 kg, 104 cm).
Possibly depicting Laetitia, the goddess of joy, standing in a contrapposto pose with left arm resting on an anchor, right arm aloft; wearing a chiton and himation, feet emerging from underneath the hem; lower part of a chignon visible on the back; repaired.
ProvenanceFrom a private French collection.
Acquired in France before 1993.
From the personal collection of Gordon Gridley.
Gordon Gridley was a founding member of the Camden Passage antique dealers’ association. Trading in antiques from the late 1960s, he opened his first shop in 1971 and remained a well-known and respected figure in the antiques world until his retirement.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12087-214012.
Cf. Burnett, A., ‘The coinage of Allectus: Chronology and Interpretation’ in British Numismatic Journal (54), 1984, pp.21-40, pp.32ff. for legend and figures of the goddess on Roman coins; for Laetitia holding an anchor, see coin types for: Gordian III RIC 300b, Cohen 123; Valerian I RIC 216, Cohen 101, Sear 9944; Tacitus RIC V-1 144; Allectus RIC 22, Sear 13811; Carausius RIC V-2; Gallienus RIC 79, Cohen 420, Goebl 46p, Sear 10124; Victorinus Calico 3825, cf Elmer 706 a; Florian Rome 34 var; Estiot 2475-2487, ric.mom.fr, 4220; Carinus RIC V-2, 261, Sear 12349; Quintillus Sear 11444.
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 Crossbow Brooch
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Parcel-gilt crossbow brooch with onion-shaped knops to the ends of the headplate and medially along the top edge; deep trapezoidal-section bow with median gusset; D-section footplate with chamfered sides open to one edge; upper part of one face of the bow with niello-filled running scroll design, lower part of the other face with running guilloche; beaded wire collar at the end. 14.6 grams, 46 mm
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Crossbow fibulae of this type were worn by high officers and, if in gold, even emperors, from Constantine to Justinian, as symbols of military rank. These fibulae are an important element in the graves, for the classification of the category of the dead, as belonging to the militia (armed or not); many of them were in gold, or gilded silver, and decorated with an inscription.
