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LOT 0933
Roman Bronze Key Ring Group
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (22.94 grams total, 31-34 mm).
Group of two rings each with angled ward and bits to the forward edge. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s.
From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 371, for type.
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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Roman Redware Pottery Fragment Group Including Jonah and the Whale
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Comprising: triangular fragment with raised rim, hindquarters of a lion; irregular fragment of a dish, nude body of a male entwined with tentacles of an octopus; irregular rim fragment with carinated profile and raised outer flange, male figure and large beast (Jonah?) modelled in high-relief. 158 grams total, 6.5-10.5 cm
Acquired 1960s-1990s. From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. -
Roman Bronze Gaming Dice
1st-4th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £156
Cuboid with impressed spots disposed 1:6, 2:3, 4:5. 13.8 grams, 12.3 mm
Ex N. Du Quesne Bird collection. Acquired 4 February 1999. From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, UK, collection no.82. Accompanied by a Colin Narbeth catalogue identification slip. -
Roman Marble Head of Dionysus
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
From a Greek original, wearing a crown of leaves and corymbs, hair falling in straight lines underneath the diadem; full beard composed of four rows of thick tufts with drilled holes; slightly open mouth with a fleshy lower lip; low cheekbones and hollow cheeks; large almond-shaped eyes with lachrymal duct; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 15.8 kg total, 48 cm high including stand
Ex private French collection, early 1960s. Acquired by the current owner in 2011. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.129940. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12086-213624.
The head finds comparable parallels with a series of herms representing philosophers, lyricists and the god Hermes, deriving from Greek originals of the 5th century B.C. The reworking of these typologies in a cultured environment is due to the diffusion of sculptures linked to the idea of speculative otium and withdrawal into the bucolic world of which Dionysus was guardian and protector. The typology of the representation associates him with the concept of continuous rebirth and fertility of nature, typical of Dionysus Lenaeus.
