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LOT 0711
Roman Bronze Statuette of a Germanic Captive
LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.
2 1/4 in. (80 grams total, 58 mm including stand).
Modelled in the round in kneeling pose with weight thrust forward, arms at the sides, bare-chested and wearing a short kilt with thick belt; the hair drawn up in the Swabian knot style above the right ear; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [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.
Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, item 1005, for similar.
FootnotesStatuettes of foreign ‘barbarian’ prisoners of this type have been found along the Danube. Their spread coincides with the Marcomannic wars of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The Swabian knot in this warrior’s hair has parallels with the warrior depicted on the contemporary Sarcophagus of Portonaccio, which represents a battle between Romans and Germanic Gauls.
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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Roman Bronze Dionysus Attachment
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Mask of Dionysus with vine leaves in the hair; hollow reverse filled with lead. 90.7 grams, 40 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Bone Gaming Dice
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Cuboid with chamfered corners each with a ring-and-dot motif, reserved pellet marks disposed 1:6, 2:4, 3:5. 1.7 grams, 10 mm
Acquired from Red House Antiques, York, UK, in 2006. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK. -
Roman Lead Statuette of Mercury
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Standing in contrapposto pose, wearing a cloak draped from the right shoulder and tucked around the left arm supporting a caduceus with snake-head finials; broad-brimmed petasos with wings on the crown; the right arm held vertically at the side supporting the marsupium coin-purse; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 111 grams total, 88 mm including stand
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.
Mercury was the god of trade and industry, whose principle shrine in the city of Rome was at the Circus Maximus. The draped mantle is typical for statuary of Mercury from the 1st-2nd century A.D. (Boucher, pl.40, 43) as is the caduceus (Boucher, pl.46 (211)).
