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LOT 0131
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.
LiteratureSee Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques De Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 262, for a Roman example of small ape statuette.
FootnotesThe 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0131
Roman Bronze Military Monkey
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Ring with Sol Invictus
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Composed of a carinated hoop and oval bezel set with a glass intaglio crowned bust facing left. 3.72 grams, 21.78 mm overall, 18.22 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K, USA 5 1/4, Europe 9.95, Japan 9)
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
The portrait could be interpreted as wearing a radiated crown, thus an image of Sol Invictus, common in gems for rings of the 3rd century A.D., where the young face of the Sun-Helios is often visible in profile, looking to the left, with the radiate crown on his head. The cult of Sol Invictus was favoured by the Illyrian emperors and elevated in Rome by Aurelian to one of the premier divinities of the Empire. -
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1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Composed of a roughly conical body and pin lug above; detached pin. 2.27 grams, 21 mm
Found Essex, UK. -
Roman Glass Face Bead
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Of roughly spherical form, opaque polychrome checked design incorporating two stylised human faces. 1.34 grams, 10 mm
Ex private collection, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s.
