Loading, please wait...
LOT 0117
Roman Bronze Statuette of Harpocrates
1ST-3RD CENTURY A.D.
2 7/8 in. (4 in.) (213 grams, 73 mm (276 grams total, 10.2 cm including stand)).
Presented as a very young child sitting on the ground, wearing a long tunic which covers his body and legs down to his feet; right arm bent and hand raised to the shoulder, left hand curved around an object (absent); sporting the conventional sidelock behind the right ear; mounted in a custom-made tiered wooden stand.
ProvenanceEx Hanna Saba collection, Ambassador to Egypt-USA-France (1909-1992).
Private European collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12098-218159.
His name was Hellenized in the Ptolemaic era and adopted by the Romans, indicating the mythological figure of Horus the child; he was the son of Isis and Osiris, and adored especially in Alexandria.
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:
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 0117
Roman Bronze Statuette of Harpocrates
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
-
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 'Yorkshire' Bronze and Lead Gaming Dice Group
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Comprising one cuboid dice with markings disposed 1:6, 2:5, 3:4; one rectangular block with sprue to one end, surface abraded. 36.9 grams total, 12-16 mm
Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Yorkshire, UK. -
Roman Lead Coffin Panel with Sphinx, Medusa and Dolphins
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
Decorated with stamped patterns including dolphins, gorgoneion, sphinx, floral patterns, motifs with ivy leaves and vertical columns dividing the field into panels. 33.2 kg, 1.72 m
Acquired 1970s-early 1990s. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
There were many ways of burying bodies during the Roman Empire. Although the majority were buried without coffins, there is evidence for wooden coffins, lead-framed wooden coffins, tile burials and lead and stone coffins. This item belongs to types widespread in the Eastern Mediterranean. The panel is decorated with a columned structure, and within each section are symbols of the outer-world, including gorgons, sphinx and dolphins. The sphinx, having a human head and breasts, legs and paws of a lion, and wings of a bird, was generally associated with protecting imperial tombs and temples. The roundels featuring the head of Medusa, known for her potent gazes that could turn one to stone, was favoured on sarcophagi and architectural ornaments because it was believed that her image would protect those within. The dolphin was considered to ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Very often these sarcophagi were connected by a pipe to the ground above so that mourners could pour offerings into the grave.
