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LOT 0810
Roman Bronze Statuette Bust of Demeter
3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (11.1 grams, 32 mm).
Bust with dressed hair, punched eyes and mouth, raised chest; slightly hollow to the reverse. [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.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman 'British' Ring Gemstone with Portrait
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Ellipsoid glass insert with profile portrait bust to one face. 2.11 grams, 14 mm
Found UK. From the collection of C. Sullivan, UK, 1990s.
The same portrait appears on 'horse and rider' plate brooches. -
Roman Lead Sling Shot Projectile Collection
1st century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £585
Comprising ten lentoid-section glandes, five with impressed stylised 'fulmen' (thunderbolt) of Jupiter. 384 grams total, 18-36 mm
Acquired in Europe in 1990. European private collection.
The missiles of ovoid shape belong to type Ia of the Völling classification. The sling (funda) with its lead missiles (plumbea pondera or glandae) and stone (lapides) was used by special funditores, illustrated on Trajan’s Column where they are simply dressed in broad tunics with no armour, but carry a shield. A fold in their cloak, or sagulum, acted as an ammunition bag. The effectiveness of the slingers was unquestionable and much appreciated, especially against elephants. Celsus, writing towards the end of the 2nd century A.D., described how a slingshot wound was more dangerous and harder to treat than one inflicted by an arrow. -
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Large Roman Marble Bull's Head Sculpture
Circa 2nd century B.C.- 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Life-size bull's head (bucranium) on a rectangular field with flattened upper face and small ledge overhang; modelled in the half-round with detailed eyes, muzzle and dewlap, plain background; tooled texture to the forehead and dewlap; Eastern Empire. 98 kg, 51 cm
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. 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.12081-213373.
The bucranium was used as a prominent motif on the exterior of Graeco-Roman temples where it replaced the use of genuine severed heads from the sacrificial rites. Garlands were draped over the heads on feast-days and occasions of special religious observance. The flattened upper face suggests an architectural use, perhaps as a corbel.
