Roman Black Glass Bead Necklace String

Comprising a range of bead types in different materials, including decorated examples. 93 grams total, 3-29 mm



Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.

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.

Of truncated conical form, the agate stone engraved with a prancing male lion facing right, one front leg and tail raised; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 1.79 grams, 14 mm



Acquired on the European art market in the late 1960s-early 1970s.