Roman Bronze Bound Captive Mount

LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.

2 3/8 in. (59 grams total, 59 mm including stand).

Depicted as a bearded man, seated and naked with rope binding the hands together and extending around the neck and ankles; pierced vertically at the shoulders; probably a sliding mount for a thong or cord; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Literature

Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, item 1007.

Footnotes

Statuettes of foreign ‘barbarian’ prisoners of this type have been found along the Danube. Their spread coincides with the Marcomannic wars of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The hairstyle of this warrior has parallels with the warriors depicted on the contemporary Sarcophagus of Portonaccio, which represents a battle between Romans and Marcomanni.

CONDITION

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LOT 0650