Roman Bronze Double-Headed Beast Statuette

With luxuriant long wavy hair and characteristic vertical locks at the forehead, full beard with two large ringlets below the chin, wearing a chiton and a himation draped over the left shoulder, the head surmounted by a corn modius decorated with olive branch in relief, the bust supported on the back of an eagle standing atop an orb with spread wings, the eagle with its head slightly turned to the left, the feathers finely detailed; a finial from a staff or a ceremonial standard. 1.4 kg, 29.5 cm high

Repaired.

Ex private collection, South Germany, 1980. with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 13 December 2003, lot 74. with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2012, lot 239. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11789-206489.

The Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) modelled many of his portraits based on Serapis. But it was under Hadrian that the refurbishment of the statue in the Serapeum increased the demand for small-scale images, like this one, probably made during his reign and used atop of a processional sceptre or standard for the cult of the god.

Comprising a bowl with incised geometric decoration; knife with single-edged iron blade and decoratively incised pommel; and a pin with tapering round-section body, shallow conical finial and decoratively incised head. 106 grams total, 4.8-13.5 cm



Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.

Comprising two flat-section bracelets with overlapping rounded terminals. 28.7 grams total, 61-63 mm



From the family collection of a Surrey gentleman since before 1960.

Bracelets 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.