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LOT 0710
Roman Bronze Handled Knife
CIRCA 3RD CENTURY A.D.
6 3/4 in. (49 grams, 17 cm long).
An iron knife with curved blade and one cutting edge, with bronze handle decorated with incised X-motifs and dashes to both faces; pierced finial. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman and Other Bead Necklace
1st century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £39
A restrung necklace composed mainly of 'black' stone and glass beads of various types and sizes, with a trio of larger pendant beads. 5.02 grams, 82 cm long
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Roman Statuette of the Goddess Fortuna
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
A bronze statuette of the goddess Fortuna, modelled in the round standing on a circular plinth base, her feet emerging from beneath her floor length robes, her hair held in a chignon at the back of the head and crowned with a diadem. 205 grams total, 13 cm high including stand
Acquired London art market in early 1960s. From the private collection of the late Walter Steinberg, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11633-199467.
The cult of Fortuna was associated with the round of the agricultural year, the wheel of time and the changing fortunes of the individual, both bad and good. The Rota Fortunae (wheel of fortune) is a symbol of the changeable nature of one's luck and was already a recognised idiom by the time of Cicero, writing in the 1st century B.C. -
Colossal Roman Head of Diana
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £7,500
A colossal architectural limestone head of the goddess Diana (Greek Artemis) with elegant features, sensual lips and deep eyes; detailed treatment of the hairstyle in transverse braids across the brow, laurel wreath with two rows of leaves resting above the forehead; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 72 cm high including stand
Ex private Belgian collection. with Madame Andree Mace collection. English private collection. Accompanied by an academic report by Prof. Neritan Ceka. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11625-199748.
The upper part of the head, cut horizontally, creates a semi-circular surface, on which the rest of the hair, or an architectonic capital, may have been mounted. A T-shaped indentation on that surface served to secure that attachment. The back of the head, cut perpendicularly, proves that the head was made to repose on an architectural surface. The fragmentary preservation of the neck does not allow a clear determination, whether we are dealing with the head of a caryatid, i.e. the head of a sculpture in the function of a pilaster, or whether the colossal head was an architectural stone corbel, i.e. an architectural element that was placed for the support of the sima of a building of great size.
