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LOT 0191
Roman Bronze Grotesque Silenus on Dolphin Handle
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
6 3/4 in. (370 grams total, 17.5 cm including stand).
Formed as a dolphin with hollow-formed curved body attached at the mouth to the base; standing on the dolphin's lower back, a grotesque bearded figure of Silenus with a furry body, and with a rope tied around his waist, his arms spread holding a cymbal in each hand; stub to the rear where the dolphin's tail joined to form a loop; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 284 (dolphin); cf. Reinach, S., Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, Paris, 1897, p.59, no.6.
FootnotesSilenus is here represented as Papposilenus, a representation of Silenus that emphasises his old age, particularly as a stock character in satyr play or comedy. His costuming includes a body stocking tufted with hair (mallōtos chitōn) that seems to have come into use in the mid-5th century B.C.
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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Opening Bid: £50
Formed as the paw of a lion on a circular base and a rectangular socket to the top, projecting lioness head below the socket. 190 grams, 83 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Roman Redware Oil Lamp
4th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Low profile lamp with lug handle and short stub nozzle; group of eight annulets to the shoulder; old collector's label. 134 grams, 12.7 cm
Ex Rheinland collection, before 2000. -
Large Roman Harness Mount Bronze Trumpet Whorl Mount Pair
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Each a D-section disc with central triskele and coiled arms, segmented detailing to the outer face. 340 grams total, 10-10.2 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The two mounts are elements of horse harness decorating the antilena and postilena of the horse, as intersection fittings of the main straps. According to Alfoldi, these horse harnesses were the product of a metallurgy that was the fruit of a Gallo-Roman revival, and not exclusively of military nature. The military adopted similar elements fruit of the revival of this Celtic-Roman decorative art, since such harnesses have also been discovered in border fortresses. But the large industrial centers, which worked for export, manufactured objects primarily for the Danubian regions where both the soldiers and the civilian population, without distinction of class, used them as habitual objects.
