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LOT 0165
Roman Bronze Head of a Grotesque Dwarf
ALEXANDRIA, 1ST CENTURY A.D.
1 7/8 in. (67 grams, 48 mm).
Hollow-formed 'moneybox' with exaggerated nose and lips, small crescent-and-pellet ears, low-relief eyes with impressed pupils, small lock of hair to the scalp, vesica-shaped socket to the underside; pierced at the scalp and at the right ear.
Provenancewith Artemis Gallery, Munich, before 1998.
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2003.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12212-222320.
Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 196; see also Cèbe, J.B., La caricature et la parodie dans le monde romain antique des origines à Juvénal, Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, 206, Paris, De Boccard, 1966; Dunand, F., Terres cuites gréco-romaines d'Égypte, Paris, Musée du Louvre, département des antiquités égyptiennes; Réunion des musées nationaux, 1990; Ewigleben, C., von Grumbkow, J. (Hrsg.), Götter, Gräber & Grotesken. Tonfiguren aus dem Alltagsleben im römischen Ägypten, Bilderhefte des Museums für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 25, Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, 1991.
FootnotesSuch small bronzes with physical abnormalities and exaggerated features served as entertainment, but also had the function of warding off evil.
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LOT 0165
Roman Bronze Head of a Grotesque Dwarf
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400€2,090 - 2,780 (for guidance only)$2,430 - 3,240 (for guidance only)
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Late Roman Glass Double Unguentarium
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £162
Composed of two conjoined tapering tubular cells, with lateral applied handles at the shoulder, decorated with applied trails; mounted on a custom-made stand. 53.7 grams, 11.6 cm (116 grams total, 13.5 cm including stand)
From an important London collection of glass, 1990s.
These late Roman double cosmetic tubes were mainly produced in the Eastern provinces. They were formed as two tubes, side by side, made from a single bubble of glass by pinching the sides vertically to form a diaphragm. The decoration consisted of a trail wound once around the body just below the rim, and a further trail wound in a spiral several times around the body. -
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Roman Amethyst Gemstone of Jason and the Golden Fleece
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
Plano-convex type with incuse image of naked Jason advancing beneath an overhanging tree with Golden Fleece suspended in its branches; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.79 grams, 13 mm
Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. -
Roman Bronze Ring with Head of Lion
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Slender round-section hoop and a round bezel with a raised lion-head with recessed eyes. 2.99 grams, 24.31 mm overall, 16.94 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J, USA 4 3/4, Europe 8.69, Japan 8)
Found North Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
The shape of the ring belongs to the typologies of the Severan Age. Under Caracalla, the theme of the lion was popular on rings of civilians and soldiers, being the emperor's favourite animal. Stars and lions were, from the age of Caracalla, symbols of the Praetorian Guard.
