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LOT 0691
Roman Bronze Hippocampus and Dolphin Statuette
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D. OR LATER
5 1/8 in. (480 grams total, 13 cm wide including stand).
Comprising a hippocampus with raised head, arched neck and forelegs extended, curved body coiling sideways and with trefoil finial; beneath its chest, a dolphin with lateral raised panels for eyes, the nose forming a point of attachment; possibly a bowl mount with the dolphin's nose attached and the hippocamp's hooves resting on the rim; 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.
Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 19th June-9th September 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
LiteratureCf. Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, items 82, 83, 303.
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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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. -
Roman Bronze Pin Finial with Actor
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With an iron pin, the finial formed as a standing comedy actor with long curly hair, hands clasped together. 22.7 grams, 89 mm
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Roman Bronze Statuette of Young Mercury on the Eagle of Jupiter
2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Modelled in the round as a figure of an eagle perching with its head turned to the right; on its back, the god Mercury with caduceus on his left arm and petasos on his head; mounted on a custom-made stand. 63.3 grams total, 68 mm including stand
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 figure of the messenger-god Mercury seated on the pinion of the eagle possibly relates to a mythic incident. Similar imagery was used in respect of Jupiter in scenes where the god was supposed to welcome a newly-deified emperor into the pantheon: see Metropolitan Museum of Art accession no. 32.142.2, for a sardonyx instance of this motif.
