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LOT 0739
Roman Bronze Horse Brooch
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (10.8 grams, 31 mm).
Modelled in the round, the neck with small engraved lines indicating mane, narrow body, short tail, the forelegs forming the pin’s catch. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market.
Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
Cf. Hattatt, R., Ancient Brooches and Other Artefacts, Oxford, 1989, item 1643; a similar horse (with rider) in Melchart, W., Antike Kostbarkeiten aus Osterreichischem privatbesitz, Wien, 1997, fig.40.
FootnotesThe style of the animal is typical of the Pannonian area. It is different from similar fibulae in the western part of the empire, where there is more suggestion of movement. However, in general the head and body are modelled with realism, and the forelegs are acting as a wide flat catch-plate.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Bronze Attacking Panther Mount
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £111
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing to the head and face, probably biting another animal. 38 grams, 66 mm
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection. -
Roman Polychrome Wall Painting Fragment
Mid 1st century A.D.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,000
Decorated with a frieze of foliage and volutes from which a blossom is springing, the image framed by a green band of arrows, an ochre and cream line border below; background painted in magnificent rosso pompeiano (Pompeian red); mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.26 kg total, 17 cm high including stand
From a European collection formed in the 19th century or earlier, based on the custom-made tooled leather box similar to another fragment kept in a case of similar manufacture with a label reading 'Fragment de Pompéi provenant de la vente Préat 1868' sold at Sotheby's New York, 12 December 2013, lot 84. Mitsukoshi department store, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, by 1974. Japanese art market, 1974-1978. 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 11826-207724.
Our painted stucco was probably part of a decorative frame, like that visible in the cubiculum of the Villa of P. Fannius Sinistor, in Boscoreale, which is earlier but represents a model of continuity through the decoration of the Roman walls. This filling of the tablinum and other rooms with ornamental plant-type columns and panels decorated with leaves and plant scrolls is found in Pompeii in certain houses, such as that of Caecilius Jucundus. -
Roman Silver Armilla Snake Bracelet
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Penannular in form with kite-shaped terminals representing serpents' heads, punched ring-and-dot and pricked dot ornament forming the stylised head and scale detailing. 8 grams, 66 mm
Ex North American private collection. Acquired privately on the European art market in the 1990s. Property of a Buckinghamshire, UK, gentleman.