LOT 0191

Roman Bronze Figure of Apollo

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

7 1/2 in. (700 grams, 19 cm).

Standing nude with a chlamys draped over his left shoulder and fastened on the right shoulder, bearing the weight on his right foot with the left leg bent at the knee with the heel raised; the right arm extended and holding the remains of an attribute, the left arm bent at the elbow; his head turned slightly to the right with long luxurious hair swept back and gathered at the nape of the neck; set on a circular socle base; stripped and repatinated.

Acquired at Mythes ét Légendes, 18 Place des Vosges, Paris, 14 May 1980.
Private collection, France.
Ex Jean Roudillon, Hôtel des Ventes de Belfort SARL, 22 October 2011, no.9.
with Christie's, London, 2 April 2014, no.91.

Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S0007570.
Accompanied by a copy of French passport no.132675 dated 7 December 2011.
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 a search certificate number no.12360-226681.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, XVIII supplément à ‘Gallia’, Paris, 1965, no.17, same type without cloak; see also Reinach, S., Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, Paris, 1897, p.83, nos.3-4, 84, no.8, for the archaic prototypes; for discussion on statuettes of Apollo with patera inside cult places, see Fogolari, G. & Gambacurta, G., Materiali preromani e romani del santuario di Lagole di Calalzo al Museo di Pieve di Cadore (Collezioni e Musei Archeologici del Veneto, 44), Roma, 2001; Bolla, M., ‘Bronzi figurati romani da luoghi di culto dell’Italia settentrionale’ in LANX 20 (2015), pp. 49‐143.

The figurine is of archaic style; it is probably a provincial work of a Gallo-Roman workshop. The prototype can be seen in the Apollo of Naxos in the Berlin Museum. The style of posture and movement can also be seen in the archaic bronzes of Falterona, the Louvre and Athens.