LOT 0143

Roman Bronze Hunchback Grotesque Statuette

1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

3 5/8 in. (130 grams, 93 mm).

Modelled in the round, sitting nude with head turned, arms and legs bent; wearing a brimmed cap with a feather in the crown; the spine and sternum modelled protruding, large, impressed eyes, genitals protruding below the crossed legs.

Acquired from Helios Ancient Art, Mayfair, London, UK, circa 1986.
From a privately held London, UK, collection from the 1980s-1990s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13276-253965.

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.

Such small bronzes with physical abnormalities and exaggerated features served as entertainment, but also had the function of warding off evil.