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LOT 0139
Roman Bronze Figure of a Grotesque Warrior
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
4 in. (227 grams total, 10 cm high including stand).
Modelled in the round figure of a hoplite with later pelta shield and corinthian helmet; the figure modelled nude with exaggerated muscles and genitals; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenanceOld private collection.
Anonymous sale, Delorme du Bocage, Paris, 31 March 2010.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12050-211847.
See Boucher, S., Recherches sur les Bronzes Figurés de Gaule Pré-Romaine et Romaine, Rome, 1976, p.188, for discussion of grotesque imagery in Roman figural sculpture.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0139
Roman Bronze Figure of a Grotesque Warrior
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
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Roman Silver Crossbow Brooch
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Parcel-gilt crossbow brooch with onion-shaped knops to the ends of the headplate and medially along the top edge; deep trapezoidal-section bow with median gusset; D-section footplate with chamfered sides open to one edge; upper part of one face of the bow with niello-filled running scroll design, lower part of the other face with running guilloche; beaded wire collar at the end. 14.6 grams, 46 mm
Ex N.C. collection. Acquired on the Swiss art market in 2000. European private collection.
Crossbow fibulae of this type were worn by high officers and, if in gold, even emperors, from Constantine to Justinian, as symbols of military rank. These fibulae are an important element in the graves, for the classification of the category of the dead, as belonging to the militia (armed or not); many of them were in gold, or gilded silver, and decorated with an inscription. -
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Roman Bronze Phallic Seal Box
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Piriform two-part container with three holes to the underside, hinge to the broad end, obverse with ropework border and stylised phallus in high-relief. 9.97 grams, 38 mm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent. -
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Roman Silver Fish Brooch
2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Plate brooch formed as a fish with broad, gently curved lozengiform body, small lateral fins, chevron tail, D-shaped head with large discoid eye; the body with five rows of crescent punchmarks denoting scales; hinge-plate and catch to the reverse. 4.98 grams, 38 mm
Fine condition.
Property of a gentleman from Vienna; from his private collection formed since 1970.
The brooch is of a type found in Britain, corresponding to Hull's type 223. The fish represented here is likely a salmon.
