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LOT 0813
Roman Bronze Bracelet Group
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 - 3 in. (72 grams total, 63-75 mm).
Comprising five with round-section bodies and squared terminals; the surface decorated with engraved lines and dots. [5, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the family collection of a Surrey gentleman since before 1960.
LiteratureCf. Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, pp.118-119, nos.125-126, for similar specimens.
FootnotesBracelets were worn in Rome by ladies of rank, but it was considered a mark of effeminacy for civilian men to use such female ornaments (Suetonius, Caligula, 52; Nero, 30). The armillae (or psellia in Greek) were rings and bracelets worn by women in the Graeco-Roman world on both legs and arms. Homer mentions them (elikas) as being part of the hairstyle of the divine Aphrodite, thus giving an almost sacred character to these objects. There were different types, the most common consisting of a more or less thick metal wire, or a flat or cylindrical circle, like our examples.
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Roman Marble Head of a Youth
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,420
Naturalistically modelled in the round, large and deep eyes with a thoughtful expression under the heavy eyelids; lips lightly profiled and parted; the back and lower part roughly treated indicating that it was prepared to be installed in a hollow or part of a relief; mounted on a custom-made display base. 4.59 kg total, 25 cm high including stand
Ex private Swiss collection, prior to the late 1980s. Acquired at Camels-Cohen Auction 228, Paris, France, 16 & 17 September 2003, lot 324. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by an academic report by Professor Neritan Ceka. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11806-206511.
The realistic style of treatment of the portrait and the preservation of classical features, in the examples of Cicero, Pompeius, or Agrippa, lead us to the last period of Roman republican portraiture, around the middle of the 1st century B.C. On the other hand, the frontal symmetry of the face, the serious expression of the eyes and the hair behind the neck, refer to the Greek sculpture of the Rigorous Style, from which the presentation of the portrait may have been inspired. These features could suggest also dating of the portrait to the last decades of the rule of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty in Rome, when there is a return to the realistic tradition of the portrait, as well as to the hairstyle with the parallel curls of the hair on the forehead in the figures, as in the portrait of Emperor Caligula (37-41 A.D.). -
Roman Glass Pear-Shaped Flask
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
Pale green with bulbous body, barrel-shaped neck and everted rim. 63 grams, 16 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
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Sogdian Silver Goblet
7th century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £900
The carinated body with concave upper and convex lower halves, pronounced rib around the equator, shallower ribbing decorating the lower body, slender collared stem and discoid foot. 265 grams, 13 cm high
Acquired on the London art market, 1980-1983.
In the treasure of Bulgar Khan Kuvrat various similar goblets were found, characterised by Greek letters. They were probably part of the booty captured to the Sassanians by the Roman Emperor Heraclius, then transformed in donativa for his ally the Khan Kuvrat. The form has parallels for a wide extension of territory, from the Avar Khaganate until China.
