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LOT 0166
Roman Bronze Statuette of Mercury
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
6 1/4 in. (957 grams, 16 cm high).
Standing erect on a tiered socle base in contrapposto pose; pointillé-textured mantle draped to the left shoulder, left arm bent, hand holding a wand; right arm loose at the side, hand holding a patera; finely modelled face with short wavy hair; shallow dimple or socket to the crown; standing on a possibly later tiered disc base with square foot.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market, 1990s.
Ex Cambridgeshire collection, UK.
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.12013-213587.
Exhibited at Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 3rd February-9th March 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, p.149, no.8, for the type; Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, items 27ff., for comparable examples; Boucher, S., Recherches sur les Bronzes Figurés de Gaule Pré-Romaine et Romaine, Rome, 1976, fig.192.
FootnotesMercury 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 of statuary of Mercury from the 1st-2nd century A.D. (Boucher, pl.40, 43) and the 'baton' may in fact be the stem of a caduceus (Boucher, pl.46 (211)).
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LOT 0166
Roman Bronze Statuette of Mercury
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000€5,800 - 8,120 (for guidance only)$6,750 - 9,450 (for guidance only)
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Roman Fresco Wall Plaster Collection
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Second style painted in cream and red, some with decoration. 527 grams total, 6.7-11.8 cm
Acquired in the 19th century. Ex Jeger collection, Switzerland.
These small fragments, for analogies with the fragments of Pompeii, seems to belong to the second style of Roman painting, red panels representing highlight and shadow, decorated with vegetal interlaces. Some panels were probably framed by a red grenade fillet. A fragment shows alternate blue and red colour over a cream background, maybe pertinent to a socle. -
Roman Blue Cut Glass Bead Necklace
1st century A.D.and laterEstimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £160
Mainly polyhedral and biconical beads with oblate spacers, with later clear glass beads. 89 grams, 73 cm long
with a London, UK gallery 1971. -
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1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Hollow-formed on a tubular shank with raised rim, modelled with dense curls to the mane, mouth open and tongue protruding. 159 grams, 67 mm
Acquired in Europe in 1994. European private collection.
