Roman Bronze Bird Finial

Hollow-formed shank with inset cabochon, flattened top. 6.41 grams, 27.10 mm overall, 18.42 x 15.45 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)



Private collection, acquired on the German art market in 1993; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13182-249298.

The heavy proportions of the ring can date it to the late 1st century A.D. The gem could be contemporary, considering the wide use of the sardonyx in the Roman rings of the early two centuries of the Empire.

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.

With intaglio profile female bust with hair in a chignon; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.27 grams, 11.43 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.