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LOT 0107
Roman Bronze Strigil
2ND CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
7 1/2 in. (46 grams, 19 cm).
With C-section profile to the blade, rectangular handle with flare to the upper end, old notch to one edge, repaired.
ProvenanceEx collection Dr. Kuhn-Lucht, Germany.
with Kölner Munzkabinett, Cologne, before 2016.
Private European collection.
An emblematic instrument of the ancient sporting world, the strigil was mainly used by athletes as a scraper for personal hygiene. After training, which took place in the gymnasiums on tracks and arenas covered with sand, athletes and young people rubbed their skin with olive oil. They then used one of these distinctive scrapers remove the sand-oil mixture before washing in water. These actions are reproduced on famous statues (including Apoxyomenos, one of Lysippus’ masterpieces), on reliefs (such as funerary steles) as well as on countless vase paintings. In Attic and Italian red-figure imagery, the strigil is often depicted on perfume vases, like the aryballos and alabastron.
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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Late Roman Highly Ornate Solid Gold Frame
3rd-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
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From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s. -
Roman Terracotta Wine Flagon
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Of squat profile with narrow flared foot, broad shoulder, single strap handle and trumpet-shaped mouth. 202 grams, 11 cm high
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Very Large Roman Bronze Oil Lamp with Actor's Mask
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
With an elongated body and a long nozzle with a rounded tip; raised rim enclosing the upper face with an ivy lef-shaped filling hole; wide handle terminating to a female tragic mask with a palmette below the chin, the hair dressed in ringlets with two rows of curls to the brow, eyes inlaid with silver; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 1.97 kg, 28 cm wide (4.31 kg total, 27.5 cm high including stand)
Old private British collection, pre-1965. Property of a gentleman; acquired in the UK before 2000. Accompanied by a copy of an old black and white photograph and 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 a search certificate number no.12033-215424.
The lamp is of Loeschke type XX (Walters type 6), with many of these lamps made in Italy, but some are also found in the East. The tragic mask appears frequently on lamp handles, probably as an apotropaic subject. The mask was an inseparable element of unity with the past and religious context.
