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LOT 0835
Roman Bronze Peacock Statuette
3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
2 7/8 in. (60.7 grams total, 75 mm including stand).
With rounded body and small lateral wings, broad fanned tail with radiating lines and ring-and-dt motifs; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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.
Cf. Tilley E., Old collections, New questions: researching the Roman Collections of the Yorkshire Museum, York, 2018, for two peacock figurines (H2427; 2015.572) from York, one from the Railway Station cemetery. Another peacock from York (H2428) is thought to be a sceptre head.
FootnotesThe peacock had a dual symbolism in the Graeco-Roman world. In the pagan world it was the symbol of the goddess Hera (Roman Juno) and represented her beauty and immortality. In the Roman-Christian world it became a symbol of the resurrection of Christ, owing to its yearly moult and regrowth of its spectacular feathers.
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 Decorated Aubergine Glass Bead Necklace String
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Roman Bronze Statuette of Mercury
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Modelled nude, standing on an ellipsoid base with mantle to the left shoulder and caduceus supported by the left arm, item (perhaps a marsupium) in the right hand, winged petasos to the head with bird perched above the left ear; mounted on a custom-made stand. 38.5 grams total, 82 mm including base
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.
The statuette belongs to Gallo-Roman glyptic tradition, whose geometric treatment of the drapery recalls that of a statuette in the Avignon museum and the statue of the seated god of Sommerécourt (Haute-Marne) of Celtic tradition. The winged petasos, as in many other statuettes, seems to be made of tortoise shell.
