Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0795
Roman Agate Gemstone with Female Bust
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
1/2 in. (1.23 grams, 1.37 mm).
With intaglio profile female bust, hair drawn up in a chignon; supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Roman Square Glass Flask
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
With a dimple to the underside, a square-section body and a wide everted rim with a step to the edge. 81 grams, 93 mm
From a specialist collection of glass, acquired from dealerships during the 1990s. -
Eastern Roman Bronze Bird Statuette
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Modelled as a stylised bird standing on a globe atop an openwork pillar, the bird with wide tail and bulbous eyes. 27.5 grams, 54 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of a Slave with Fruit Basket
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Hollow-formed figure of a servant with grotesque facial features, pointed cap and a short tunic, carrying a pouch in the right hand and shoulders an overflowing fruit basket on the left; a large recess between his legs may be for the insertion of an oversized model phallus; pierced lug to rear of neck for suspension. 286 grams, 17.5 cm
Acquired from Galerie Puhze, Freiburg, between 2002 and 2010. From the collection of R. L., Lower Saxony. Ex Gorny & Mosch, auction 300, Munich, no.75. Accompanied by a certificate from Galerie Günter Puhze and a German export licence.
Grotesque and exaggerated figurines were produced in late Hellenistic times, especially in Alexandria. The artisans, fascinated with realism, started to reproduce scenes and figures from daily life, and seemed to have a preference for emphasis on ill and deformed persons. The characters with caricature features are usually referred to as grotesques.