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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 Bronze and Silver Gladius Scabbard Mount Group
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Including a scallop-shaped appliqué with scrolled tendrils and other types. 12.6 grams total, 36-49 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Footed Terracotta Bowl
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Squat with squared rim, three stub feet, hole to base. 371 grams, 16.2 cm wide
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. -
Roman Marble Head of Euripides
2nd century A.D.Estimate: £18,000 - 24,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £10,000
An impressive carved herm of the tragic author of the tragic author Euripides, portrayed as an elderly man with full beard and long hair forming compact, slightly wavy strands, radiating from a single point at the back of the head and combed forwards over the forehead; heavy brow and small mouth; cracked and repaired. 7.46 kg, 25 cm
English private collection, acquired in the late 1970s/early 1980s. David Cambridge, Cheltenham. with Galerie Chenel, Paris, acquired from the above in 1998. French private collection, acquired from the above in 1999/2000. Ancient Marbles, Classical Sculpture and works of art; Sotheby's, London, 13 June 2016, no.49. 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.12191-222443.
Euripides was a classical Athenian playwright and one of the three great tragedians of ancient Greece, alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles. Born in 480 B.C., his work is renowned for its complex characters and psychological depth, often exploring the darker aspects of human nature and societal norms. Euripides' plays, such as Medea, The Bacchae, and Hippolytus, are marked by their innovative use of mythological themes to comment on contemporary issues.