Roman Bronze Medical Tool Collection

Bust and torso of an indigenous nobleman modelled in the round; with rounded facial features, the shoulder-length hair dressed in hanks and cut into tiers, centre-parted and framing the face; the eyes exaggerated, probably originally emphasised with sheet-silver detailing; the broad chest smooth with ring-and-dot nipples; a thick collar or torc sitting high on the collar-bone, with braided detailing and finished with a D-shaped pendant; each upper-arm supported by a barley-twist column with cup finial and stylised flames above; the centre supported by a rectangular block with incised herringbone linear pattern interspersed with pointillé pellets; the base broad and gently curved away from the figure, with a lattice of bilinear panels bearing groups of three ring-and-dot motifs, D-shaped loop to the forward edge flanked by smaller lobes; the reverse plain, the head hollow with remains of a thick loop at the lower edge of the hair; significant iron deposits to surface from its deposition environment; of provincial Roman workmanship. 461 grams, 13 cm



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.

Its construction with a central block flanked by two short pillars (i.e. leaving two slots) suggests that the piece may have been intended as a rein-guide for a chariot, whereby the leather or fabric straps would pass through the two apertures and, by their separation, be prevented from tangling. Bronze figural busts are known from Gallo-Roman contexts: they are usually female and interpreted as tutelae or protective tribal spirits (Boucher & Tassinari, 1976, items 62-4). The present example is evidently designed to impress the viewer with its portrayal of the 'noble barbarian' as a suitable conveyor of martial splendour (Boucher & Tassinari, 1976, item 321). The impressive figure recalls the famed statue 'The Dying Gaul' in the Capitoline Museum, Rome, showing a 'barbarian' warrior with a neck torc, thick hair and moustache, discarded weapons and shield carved on the ground and a carnyx trumpet between his legs. The statue is a copy of a Hellenistic original celebrating a Greek victory over the Galatians.

With conical lower body and rounded shoulder, broad mouth with pinched pouring lip and thick handle to the rear. 943 grams, 24.5 cm



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.

Carved architectural element depicting a double herm comprising: a diademed female bust with long wavy hair framing the face, slender features with small mouth and raised lids; the other side with a diademed female with hair arranged in neat curls on the forehead, large eyes and small mouth, taenia shown on each side of the neck; base reworked with drilled sockets for mounting. 12.6 kg, 29 cm high



Old collection, acquired in the 1970s. Acquired by inheritance from Mr N.S. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12084-211893.

The head with elaborately curled hair and diadem could represent Ariadne, as shown by comparisons with a fragment of a two-faced herm with bearded Dionysus and Ariadne preserved in the Antiquarium Ostiense, dated to the lmperial Roman age. The heads could be interpreted either as Ariadne and a Maenad, or as two Maenads being characterised by the diadem and long taeniae. The association of these figures with Dionysus is congruent with the typology of the herm, which refers to rural places and theatres. Numerous herms in fact attest that this type of sculpture was used in contexts linked to Dionysus and his sacred procession as well as, obviously, the representation of Ariadne, his female partner and double. The example fits into the class of domestic sculpture with a decorative function, mostly used to adorn peristyles and viridaria; the type placed at the crown of columns and pillars is quite documented, in particular in the version with the head of Dionysus contrasted with that of Ariadne or a Maenad.