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LOT 0709
Roman Bronze Spread Eagle Statue Base
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (44.5 grams, 50 mm).
Modelled with naturalistic detailing, wings spread with the feet of a statue standing on its tail.
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.
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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LOT 0709
Roman Bronze Spread Eagle Statue Base
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze ROMA Brooch
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With openwork monogram in Latin letters, ('R'+'M'+'A', with the 'O' represented by the circular plan of the brooch itself), a palindrome 'AMOR'; complete with pin. 13.86 grams, 35 mm
Acquired on the German art market around 2000s. From the collection of an EU gentleman living in the UK.
The brooch is composed of the stylised letters ‘RMA’. When viewed from the obverse RMA + the circle of the brooch form a monogram for ‘Roma’. Roma refers to both the city and its divine personification, the Dea Roma. But if RMA is read from right to left (or the brooch is viewed from the opposite side), the letters display a monogram for ‘AMOR’, the Latin name for Cupid, the god of love. The phrase pertains to Roma-Amor, a widely recognised palindrome espousing Roman wordplay in the ancient times. -
Roman Glass Unguentarium
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With piriform body and flat base, tall neck and everted rim. 19.9 grams, 10.9 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis
Circa 2nd century A.D.Estimate: £80,000 - 100,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £40,000
With luxuriant long wavy hair and characteristic vertical locks at the forehead, full beard with two large ringlets below the chin, wearing a chiton and a himation draped over the left shoulder, the head surmounted by a corn modius decorated with olive branch in relief, the bust supported on the back of an eagle standing atop an orb with spread wings, the eagle with its head slightly turned to the left, the feathers finely detailed; a finial from a staff or a ceremonial standard. 1.4 kg, 29.5 cm high
Repaired.
Ex private collection, South Germany, 1980. with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 13 December 2003, lot 74. with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2012, lot 239. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11789-206489.
The Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) modelled many of his portraits based on Serapis. But it was under Hadrian that the refurbishment of the statue in the Serapeum increased the demand for small-scale images, like this one, probably made during his reign and used atop of a processional sceptre or standard for the cult of the god.