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_900x900.jpg "Roman Bronze Plaque with Eros on Lion")
_200x200.jpg "Roman Bronze Plaque with Eros on Lion")
.jpg "Roman Bronze Plaque with Eros on Lion")
LOT 0087
Roman Bronze Plaque with Eros on Lion
CIRCA 2ND-4TH CENTURY A.D.
4 in. (182 grams, 10.2 cm high).
Modelled in relief with openwork elements, stylised detailing to both figures; hollow reverse.
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Cf. Mille, B., 'The Casting Techniques of Antique South Arabian Large Bronze Statues,' in Jett, P., McCarthy, B. and Douglas, J.G. (eds.), Scientific Research on Ancient Asian Metallurgy: Proceedings of Fifth Forbes Symposium at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, Smithsonian Institution, 28-29/10/2010, Washington, 2012, pp.225-247, fig.5, for similar images.
FootnotesHollow cast bronze images of Eros riding a lion are linked to the Eastern Levant and have been found for example in Tamna, probably a Roman import. The importance of the long-distance contacts within the Eastern Mediterranean areas was rapidly reflected in provincial artistic styles, probably as soon as in Hellenistic times, at the beginning of the third century B.C., possibly even earlier. The unquestionable Greek influence led a number of scholars to define three main styles for the bronzes discovered in the eastern Roman provinces: a local type and iconography locally produced, Greek or Roman imports, and Oriental, Hellenistic, or Roman style, locally produced.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0087
Roman Bronze Plaque with Eros on Lion
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Roman Glass Weight with Animals and Inscription
1st-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Amber-coloured glass disc with irregular flange, low-relief horse, human and crescent, retrograde Greek text. 5.4 grams, 30 mm
From the Robin Symes Gallery, stock number 91-321 on label, inventory number 185. -
Roman Silver-Gilt Military Belt Plate with Hercules Killing the Nemean Lion
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
Comprising a repoussé panel with the nude hero wearing a mantle and killing the beast, a palm of victory underneath his feet, a dog attacking the lion from above, foliage around the scene; two fixing studs to the reverse; accompanied by a frame. 234 grams total, 53 x 37 mm (13 x 13 cm including frame)
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The belt fitting finds parallels with belt parts from Asia Minor, today in the British Museum, inv. EC 252-254. These kind of plates, decorative and engraved with classical scenes, can possibly be dated to the age of Theodosius I. The quality of decoration can support the thesis that they belonged to the officers of the Comitatus (the Imperial mobile army). -
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Roman Redware Lamp with Radiate Head of Serapis
3rd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Comprising a squat body with thick nozzle and lug handle, band of leaves and bunches of grapes to the discus, surrounding a bust of Serapis with modius and radiate crown; maker's initials to the underside 'S. S. L.'. 145 grams, 12.2 cm wide
Fine condition.
Ex London gallery 1980s. From the collection of a deceased Lancashire gentleman.
Serapis was a Graeco-Egyptian god, whose cult was popularised during the 3rd century B.C. on the orders of Ptolemy I of Egypt, to facilitate the religious syncretism of his kingdom. During the Roman Empire his image was widely diffused in the east, and the image of Zeus-Serapis was often fitted with the radiate crown, linking it with the cult of Sol Invictus; the position as the main divinity of the Roman Pantheon strengthened by Lucius Domitius Aurelian (270-275 A.D.).
