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LOT 0934
Roman Bronze Bacchus Mount with Silver Inlay
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (28.6 grams, 44 mm).
The god of wine shown with grotesque features and stern expression, neatly arranged long beard, short horns and vine-leaf crown resting on the brow.
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Large Eastern Roman Green Glass Bottle with Iridescence
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Piriform in profile with a narrow neck and flared mouth with a chamfered rim, dimple base. 945 grams, 29.5 cm high
From the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès private collection. with Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2014, no.39. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12959-245241.
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence and desirability of the piece. -
Roman Bronze Lower Section of Adonis-Tammuz Statue
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Modelled in the round as a belted torso and legs with tiered tasselled robes and bare feet. 128 grams, 10 cm
UK art market, 1981. Private collection, London, UK.
Adonis was the offspring of an incestuous union between Smyrna and Cinyras. As an infant, he was given by Venus (Aphrodite) to Persephone for protection, but later became an object of desire for both, resulting in a decision by Zeus that he would spend four months with Persephone, four months with Venus and four months with whomever he wished. According to mythological traditions, Adonis was killed by a wild boar during a hunt - either sent by Artemis, or Ares in disguise. Aphrodite pleaded for Adonis' life with Zeus, who allowed the youth to spend half of each year with her and half in the underworld. -
Roman Bronze Horse Crossbow Brooch
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Bow brooch formed as a horse modelled in the round with halter to the neck, notched mane, punched pellet eyes; fore-legs forming the catch, rear legs with transverse bar and hinged pin beneath. 19 grams, 35 mm
Ex David Miller, Hemel Hempstead, London, UK. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s.
