Roman Bronze Military Monkey

4TH CENTURY A.D.

1 3/8 in. (23.9 grams, 34 mm).

Modelled seated on a polygonal base wearing a paenula, the right hand placed on the left shoulder, head tilted to one side, right hand placed on a stela or lantern.

Provenance

‘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.

Literature

See Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques De Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 262, for a Roman example of small ape statuette.

Footnotes

The monkey is bearing a military sagum with cucullus and is holding beside him a squared lucerna. This representation can be a Roman military mascot or simply a grotesque. In 2001 in Spain, at Llivia, remains of Barbary apes with military belt buckles typically related to the late Roman period were discovered. The discovery of this type of belt buckle in a human grave would suggest that they were once a part of this army, so the fact that some were given to a Barbary ape means that the apes played a military role, for example, acted as targets to distract the enemy, or were used in type of a combat or for defence. Apes were also a very common form of pet in the Graeco-Roman world.

CONDITION

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LOT 0131