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LOT 0116
Roman Bronze Statuette of Athena
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
5 1/8 in. (279 grams total, 13 cm including stand).
Standing erect in contrapposto pose, wearing a floor-length himation and with the gorgoneion medallion on her chest; Corinthian helmet on her head tilted backwards to reveal her face; right arm raised and bent with open hand to accept a spear-shaft; 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.
Exhibited at Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 14th March-9th June 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefact on display.
LiteratureCf. Reinach, S., Repertoire de la statuarie Grecque et Romaine, Paris, 1930, pp.276ff., for the type; Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 67, for similar.
FootnotesThe figure is a hybrid based on representation of Roman Minerva, closely associated with Greek Athena. The missing attributes are the spear and the shield, according to the type of Minerva of Firenze (Reinach, 1930, p.278).
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Roman Bronze Statuette of a Germanic Captive
Late 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Depicted as a bearded man, seated and naked apart from a hood or cap on his head, with rope binding the hands together and extending around the neck and ankles; pierced vertically at the shoulders; probably a sliding mount for a thong or cord; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 55 grams total, 79 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.
Statuettes 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. -
Roman Fresco Wall Plaster Collection
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Second style, painted in red, blue and cream, one with leaf motifs. 622 grams total, 5.7-11.6 cm
Acquired in the 19th century. Ex Jeger collection, Switzerland.
These small fragments, showing similarities with fragments of Pompeii, seem to belong to the second style of Roman painting, red panels profiled with black lines representing highlight and shadow. The panels were probably framed by a green fillet. A couple of fragments show two fields in alternated red and blue. -
Roman Bronze Star-Shaped Plate Brooch
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
With enamelled central panel to obverse, fronds and scrolls, studs to the arms. 12.1 grams, 42 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.
