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_900x900.jpg "Roman Aquamarine Gemstone with Portrait of Emperor Septimius Severus in Silver and Gold Ring")
_200x200.jpg "Roman Aquamarine Gemstone with Portrait of Emperor Septimius Severus in Silver and Gold Ring")
.jpg "Roman Aquamarine Gemstone with Portrait of Emperor Septimius Severus in Silver and Gold Ring")
LOT 0170
Roman Aquamarine Gemstone with Portrait of Emperor Septimius Severus in Silver and Gold Ring
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
1 1/8 in. (18.89 grams, 28.88 mm overall, 21.34 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X 1/2, USA 11 3/4, Europe 26.92, Japan 25)).
With the bust of the emperor facing left, laurel wreath in his curly hair with ribbons falling behind his head, beard with characteristic forked tip, mounted in a large broad silver hoop widening to an oval bezel inset with a gold border.
ProvenanceEnglish private collection, 1980s-1990s.
with Christie's, London, 7 October 2010, no.204.
European private collection, acquired in 2010.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages.
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 a search certificate number no.12609-234621.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. coins with bust portraits of Septimius Severus from mints of Antiochia, Ancyra, Tavium, in Arslant, M., Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Roman Coins, Istanbul, 1992, pls.95-97, for parallels; Baydur, N., Roman Sikkeleri, Istanbul, 1998, figs.222 and 225; Marsden, A., Roman Coins found in Britain, Witham, 2001, p.23, fig.39; cf. also Richter, G.M.A., The engraved gems of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans, part two: Engraved Gems of the Romans: A supplement to the History of Roman Art, London, 1971, nos. 572 ss; Volleinweider, M-L., Camées et Intailles. Les portraits romains du Cabinet des médailles, Paris, 2018, Tome II nos. 204 ss; for a recent work on the iconography of the Imperial family of the Severans see Petruccioli, G., The portraiture of Caracalla and Geta: form, context and function, Oxford, 2011.
FootnotesComparison with contemporary coinage confirms that this bust with its prominent nose, chin, curly hair and forked tip beard, represents Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), and the image certainly conveys the strong character of the commander who led the Roman army to victory, not only in Europe but also in the Middle East. A similar portrait can be seen on the cameo in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accession no.99.368). In the Boston cameo the emperor is likewise seen in profile, facing right, and his beard, with the forked tip, is identical. Another good comparison is with the cameo of the Imperial family preserved at the Cabinet des Medailles, Paris (Petruccioli, 2011, fig.230). Cameos and rings of this typology were often gifted and gifted to members of the Imperial entourage, and were a great instrument of Imperial propaganda.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0170
Roman Aquamarine Gemstone with Portrait of Emperor Septimius Severus in Silver and Gold Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
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Life-Size Roman Bronze Head of an Empress
Mid-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £60,000 - 80,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £27,500
A member of the Imperial family, possibly an empress, depicted with an elaborate coiffure, the hair at the back of the head parted in the middle and the two strands folded over each other, then pulled to the front to form a looped horizontal layer parted in the middle of the smooth forehead and drawn back, individual curls represented as vertical lines along the forehead hairline up to the exposed ears, two locks hanging down the sides behind the ears, extending to the upper part of the neck; beautiful facial rendering with stoic expression, exquisite detailing to the eyebrows, eyelids and pupils; snub-nose, closed lips, thin and graceful neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 4.07 kg, 40.5 cm high including stand
Acquired on the German art market, early 1970s. German private family collection; by gift to the owner's son in 2015. Private collection, London. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffele D'Amato, and Dr Marina Mattei, former curator of the Capitoline Museums for over 40 years. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12607-234556. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The mature age of the woman depicted in the portrait is revealed by the oval gaunt, deep-set eyes and the folds at the sides of the nose and mouth. The woman’s head shows the typical traits of the full and mature 3rd century A.D., executed in a Hellenistic style tradition. Our sculpture is well inserted in the imperial portrait type, bearing technical and aesthetical parallels to portraits in bronze. The hairstyle could be Scheitelzopf (or reverse plait), tightened by a hairnet, pinned to the top of the head. The same type of hairstyle, albeit with variations in the details (decorative curls and position of the hair loop), is found on a few other portraits of women that were dated to the Period of Gallienus by Marianne Bergmann. Some of the portraits in this typologically related group are likely to be private portraits. Hereby physiognomic features and especially imperial coin portraits need to be taken into account. In this context, it is important to compare the portrait with that of Trebonianus Gallus in the MET. Like the sculpture of Trebonianus Gallus, the head fits stylistically with Roman provincial bronzes from the Eastern Mediterranean or North Africa, possibly from workshops of Asia Minor or from the great metropolis of Alexandria, where bronze statuary was more common and Hellenistic influences remained strong. -
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Roman Marble Statue Fragment with Dog
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £12,350
Trapezoidal in plan base fragment with figures carved in the round: tree with bands of horizontal ribbing; left foot, ankle and calf of a male wearing open-toed sandal and military-style boot, the upper part decorated with the skin of a lion cub; body of a dog sitting at heel beside the tree. 13.9 kg, base: 30 cm long
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. 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.12578-232182. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The military boot cothurnus worn here by a hunter or a military commander, was widely used by commanders of the Roman army, and sometimes by actors playing military heroes. Officers wore splendid closed cothurni of various colours, like those realised in blue leather and worn by an officer represented on a fresco from Stabiae (D’Amato-Sumner, 2009, p.13). -
Roman Black Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £72
Restrung group of biconical, cylindrical and other beads. 8.79 grams, 30 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
