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LOT 0788
Roman Bronze Statuette of Mercury
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 in. (66 grams total, 85 mm including stand).
Standing nude with winged petasos to the head, in contrapposto pose; 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., Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine a Lyon: Bronzes Antiques I. Inscriptions, Statuaire, Vaisselle, Lyon, 1976, item 49, for type.
FootnotesMercury was the god of trade and industry, whose principle shrine in the city of Rome was at the Circus Maximus. Equated with the Greek Hermes he became the god of tradesmen and merchants. He was also the god of thieves and was associated with healing, mainly in Gaul, where he had a number of important temples connected to sacred springs, This statuette was probably a votive offering to one of this temples.
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:
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Roman Marble Head of a Woman
1st-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Carved in the round with carinated diadem in the hair, heavily lidded eyes, small mouth with pursed lips. 620 grams, 95 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. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12102-218191. -
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1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
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