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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 Translucent Glass Bottle
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Having piriform-globular body and everted rim, tubular neck and flat base with small kick. 20 grams, 11.5 cm high
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The bottle seems to belong to the type 13 of the De Tommaso classification, but with a more piriform body. By the 1st century A.D., the technique of glass-blowing revolutionised the art of glass-making and allowed for the production of small medicine, incense, and perfume containers in new forms. Glass unguentaria, bottles and vessels of various shapes were manufactured with blow-pipes, free-blown, or mould-blown, and were prevalent throughout the all the provinces of the huge empire. -
Roman Bronze Statuette of Mercury
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,750
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. 957 grams, 16 cm high
Acquired 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.
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 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)). -
Roman 'Gloucestershire' Mosaic Panel
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,105
Irregular mosaic fragment of beige, cream and grey tesserae with radiating trumpet-shaped swirls; mounted in a modern rectangular matrix. 33 kg, 76 cm high
Found Gloucestershire, UK. 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.
A mosaic found in Cirenchester (insula IX, Chester Street) shows panels defined by a dark blue-grey single fillet with an additional double fillet parallel to it on a longer axis, having an overall scheme of running pelta-pattern. Each pelta is outlined in dark-blue grey and infilled with red, white and dark blue grey at the centre.
