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LOT 0898
Roman Bronze Statue of Mars Gradivus
2ND CENTURY B.C.
5 1/4 in. (278 grams, 13.5 cm high).
Modelled in the round as a young beardless warrior hero with muscular body and rounded shoulders; wearing a high-crested pseudo-Attic helmet with a diadem; the hair arranged in orderly locks over his brow; the bent left hand would originally have held a shield and the extended right hand a spear.
ProvenanceEx collection of Dr Djafari (1900-1981), Kaiserslautern, Germany.
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.11812-206498.
Cf. Reinach, S., Repertoire de la statuarie Grecque et Romaine, Paris, 1930, pp.180 and 183, nos.7 (Louvre) and 2 (type B. Kerguerriec. Coll.P. du Chatellier in Kernuz), for similar.
FootnotesThis statue of Mars Gradivus, the marching god of war, was probably a cult offering. The statuette still presents an archaic Etruscan hairstyle, being part of the Italic statuettes of the god produced as votive offering to the temples or for private lararia. A Gallo-Roman period temple dedicated to the cult of Mars with a similar statuette has recently been found in Brittany.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Amber Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £72
Restrung group of graduated tubular and spherical beads with a later barrel-shaped centrepiece. 26.5 grams, 44 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Late Roman Bronze Chi Rho Pendant
4th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Amuletic Christogram pendant with loop above. 2.71 grams, 37 mm
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. -
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Larger Than Life-Size Roman Bronze Sandaled Foot
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39,000
Modelled in the round and originally part of a monumental statue, the naturalistic right foot encased in a trochades leather sandal with median reversed tongue secured with side straps and thick looped laces; the thick platform sole slightly curved, toes and nails well defined; mounted on a substantial custom-made display stand. 5.84 kg total, foot: 30 cm wide
German art market. European private collection, 1970s-early 2000s. Acquired from the above; thence by descent. Private collection, London, UK. 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.12176-221443.
The detailed bronze foot with a possible variant of the Greek trochades sandal, known to be a traveller's sandal, is all that remains of the once monumental statue. The trochades was a sturdy traveller's open boot of Greek origin with a flat sole. In the Consular Age it was also used by officers and guardsmen. Roman sandals consisted usually of a leather sole attached to the foot with interlacing thongs.
