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LOT 0118
Roman Bronze Statuette of Isis
1ST-3RD CENTURY A.D.
5 1/4 in. (280 grams total, 13.3 cm including stand).
The goddess standing, wearing an Ionic chiton and himation secured by a characteristic knot tied between her breasts, the folds cascading to the floor; her left hand modelled open and held above her breast; her centre-parted wavy locks fastened with a band, pulled back in a chignon at the nape of her neck and surmounted by a hair-comb; 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. Boucher, S., Tassinari, S., Bronze Antiques du Musée de la civilisation Gallo-Romaine a Lyon, 1. Inscriptions, Statuaire, Vaisselle, Lyon, 1976, nos.20-21,38 (Fortuna and Isis-Fortuna); also Descamps-Lequime, S, 'Acquisitions' in La Revue des musées de France. Revue du Louvre, 2, 2016, p.91, fig. 109, no.109, Louvre inventory Br 6045.
FootnotesStatuettes of Fortuna, the goddess of chance, were evidently popular during the Roman Imperial times judging by the large number that have been found, and with the advent of the cult of Isis within the Roman Empire, the two divinities were identified as a single goddess.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Silver Figure of a Man
1st-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Standing erect wearing a draped toga, bearded and with thick bowl-cut hair. 9.05 grams, 39 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection since the late 1990s. -
Roman Bronze Bull Statuette
2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
Modelled in advancing pose with one foreleg raised and tail looped over onto the rump, head erect with suggestion of an ornamental plate or garland on the brow; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 227 grams total, 86 mm high 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.
After the Roman annexation of Egypt, Egyptian cults such as that of the Apis bull were syncretised, becoming part of a distinctively Egyptian form of Roman polytheism. Representations of prancing Apis bulls, turned either left or right, have been found throughout the Roman Empire. -
Roman and Later Artefact Group
3rd-17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Comprising: an annular bracelet with linear decoration; four spherical buttons; an openwork mount; a large mount with a central face mask; a polished mirror insert fragment; a casket leg formed as lion's paw; a pin with iron stem; and a hook. 179 grams total, 1.3-12 cm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.
