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LOT 0560
Roman and Later Bronze Artefact Group
3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D. AND LATER
3/4 - 1 1/2 in. (94 grams total, 18-40 mm).
Comprising various figures and mounts including: a sheep, a fly, a peacock, an anthropomorphic head, a mount with a lying feline and a crouching figure. [6, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market.
Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
Cf. Durham, E., Metal Figurines in Roman Britain, University of Reading PhD thesis, 2010, item 287 (horse from Spalding, Lincolnshire).
FootnotesIn the art of late antiquity and early Christianity, during the Christian Middle Ages to the present, peacock held a prominent place, not only as a decorative motif, but also as a distinctive emblematic and symbolic sign. Its image was usually combined with a kantharos or a tree of life. Individually or in pairs, it was usually represented on places which were the ones closest to the holiest part of churches (altar’s parapet wall panels). Votive statuettes were brought in the church by the believers.
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 Marble Head of Dionysus
Circa 2nd century A.D.Estimate: £30,000 - 40,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £15,000
A Roman copy of a Greek original, wearing a crown of leaves and corymbs, hair falling in straight lines underneath the diadem; full beard composed of four rows of thick tufts with drilled holes; slightly open mouth with a fleshy lower lip; low cheekbones and hollow cheeks; large almond-shaped eyes with lachrymal duct; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 15.8 kg total, 48 cm high including stand
Ex private French collection, early 1960s. Acquired by the current owner in 2011. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.129940. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11791-206395
The head finds comparable parallels with a series of herms representing philosophers, lyricists and the god Hermes, deriving from Greek originals of the 5th century B.C. The reworking of these typologies in a cultured environment is due to the diffusion of sculptures linked to the idea of speculative otium and withdrawal into the bucolic world of which Dionysus was guardian and protector. The typology of the representation associates him with the concept of continuous rebirth and fertility of nature, typical of Dionysus Lenaeus. -
Roman Redware Sherd Group with Lions
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
The larger fragment with stepped neck and rim, bearing a leaping lion right in raised relief; the smaller fragment with leonine protome; both in terra sigillata africana; modern suspension loop to reverse. 54 grams total, 35-60 mm
Acquired 1960s-1990s. From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
The most ancient production of red African ware began in the Flavian Age. Towards the second half of the 3rd century A.D. – but most probably before – the production reached its zenith and African redware pottery was imported from all the Imperial provinces. -
Roman Bronze Phallic and Fist Fitting
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
The central circular socket flanked by a stylised phallus on one side and an extended arm with clenched fist on the other. 12.8 grams, 57 mm
From the collection of a Cambridge lady, 1990s.
