Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0664

Roman Bronze Statuette Group

3RD CENTURY A.D.

1 1/4 - 1 3/4 in. (43.6 grams total, 30-43 mm).

Group of three votives comprising: standing female (Venus?) with right hand drawn up to the lips; bearded male (Hercules?) with one hand on his buttock; triangular mount with human mask, annulet detailing. [3, No Reserve]

Provenance

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.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine 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:

TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.

LOT 0664

Roman Bronze Statuette Group

Sold for (Inc. bp): £195

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Roman Silver Crossbow Brooch
    Roman Silver Crossbow Brooch
    3rd-4th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170

    Parcel-gilt crossbow brooch with onion-shaped knops to the ends of the headplate and medially along the top edge; deep trapezoidal-section bow with median gusset; D-section footplate with chamfered sides open to one edge; upper part of one face of the bow with niello-filled running scroll design, lower part of the other face with running guilloche; beaded wire collar at the end. 14.6 grams, 46 mm



    Ex N.C. collection. Acquired on the Swiss art market in 2000. European private collection.

    Crossbow fibulae of this type were worn by high officers and, if in gold, even emperors, from Constantine to Justinian, as symbols of military rank. These fibulae are an important element in the graves, for the classification of the category of the dead, as belonging to the militia (armed or not); many of them were in gold, or gilded silver, and decorated with an inscription.

    Lot Details

  • Large Roman Terracotta Jug
    Large Roman Terracotta Jug
    1st-4th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £78

    With broad mouth, flared rim and loop handle to the shoulder. 1.4 kg, 24.5 cm high



    Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.

    Lot Details

  • Life-Size Roman Marble Lower Torso
    Life-Size Roman Marble Lower Torso
    Circa 2nd century A.D.

    Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000 (+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £9,850

    Modelled in the round in cream-coloured marble; the hips and right leg of a slender male standing beside a column with the lower part of an animal at the base; the figure modelled with narrow hips and waist in contrapposto stance, genitals removed, muscular leg with slender ankle; adjacent column with remains of a branch or spur at the top, developing to a flared base with a crouching hare or rabbit; mounted on a custom-made stand. 101.4 kg total, 99 cm including stand



    Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. 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.12088-213904.

    Despite the loss, the semi-circular rise that separated the ribcage from the abdomen highlights the muscles of a young athlete or a hero. The statue could represent many male heroes or deities (Reinach, 1897, p.210 no.2, 817 no.4), but, by comparison with a similar sculpture in the Brussels Museum, it could refer to a rare image of the handsome and ferocious hunter Hippolytus, son of Theseus and the Amazon Antiope, killed by the curse of his father due to Phaedra’s deception. The presence of the small hare or rabbit at the base of the column could confirm the hypothesis of a hunter hero, and finds its parallel with the small animals (gecko and panther) visible on the Brussels sculpture.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list