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LOT 0135
Roman Bronze Figure of Jupiter as Zeus Brontaios
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
6 1/8 in. (384 grams total, 15.5 cm high including stand).
Depicted nude in contrapposto pose, his weight on his right leg, the left leg flexed and advancing; the hair and beard formed as a dense mass of curls; a full beard complementing his luxuriant curls; slender, muscular body with defined anatomical details; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenancewith Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, 02.1976, lot 51.
Acquired in Europe in 2017.
Accompanied by copies of relevant pages of Münzen und Medaillen AG.
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.11792-206488.
See no.195a in Leventi, 'Zeus' in LIMC and nos.243-244 in Leventi and Machaira, 'Zeus' in LIMC; Christie's, Antiquities, New York, 4 June 2008, lot 255; the type is also visible in various statues of Zeus, for example an example in the Cabinet Des Medailles, published in Rolley, C.I., Monumenta Graeca et Romana; volume V : Les arts mineurs grecs; fascicule 1: Les Bronzes, Paris, 1967, pl.30; Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, XVIII supplément à ‘Gallia’, Paris, 1965, no.15; Jongkees, J.H., Jongkees-Vos, M.F., in Varia Archaeologica, Ter Burg, 1971, pp.25ff.
FootnotesThe prototype of Zeus Brontaios, or Zeus the Thunderer, has been attributed to a Greek original by sculptor Leochares, c. 370-360 B.C. The statue was realised by Leochares to celebrate the founding of Megalopolis, in 371 B.C. The god would have held a sceptre in his left hand and cradled his thunderbolt in his right.
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Roman Bronze Bracelet Group
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
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. -
Gemstone with Lion
Roman, 2nd-3rd century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £195
Of truncated conical form, the agate stone engraved with a prancing male lion facing right, one front leg and tail raised; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 1.79 grams, 14 mm
Acquired on the European art market in the late 1960s-early 1970s. -
Roman Bronze Ring
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
With carinated hoop, elliptical bezel. 3.62 grams, 20.42 mm overall, 15.13 mm internal diameter (approximate size British H 1/2, USA 4, Europe 6.81, Japan 6)
Acquired from Den of Antiquity, Cambridgeshire, UK. Ex private Merseyside, UK, collection.
