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LOT 0118
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Eros Harassing a Bird in a Tree
1ST-3RD CENTURY A.D.
1/2 in. (0.56 grams, 14 mm).
The oval intaglio engraved with nude Eros, holding a fowling-rod, approaching a tree with a bird, a line marking the ground.
ProvenanceAcquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.
Cf. for similar see British Museum, accession no. 1923.0401.486, in Walters, H.B., Catalogue of Engraved Gems & Cameos, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the British Museum, London, 1926, no.2869.
FootnotesDoves are a typical attribute of Aphrodite, and real birds were often given to women as love-tokens; this bezel was possibly destined to a ring used for this purpose. At the same time, the presence of Eros was presumably intended to enhance the wearer’s personal allure.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0118
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Eros Harassing a Bird in a Tree
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
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Roman Polychrome Wall Painting Fragment
Mid 1st century A.D.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,000
Decorated with a frieze of foliage and volutes from which a blossom is springing, the image framed by a green band of arrows, an ochre and cream line border below; background painted in magnificent rosso pompeiano (Pompeian red); mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.26 kg total, 17 cm high including stand
From a European collection formed in the 19th century or earlier, based on the custom-made tooled leather box similar to another fragment kept in a case of similar manufacture with a label reading 'Fragment de Pompéi provenant de la vente Préat 1868' sold at Sotheby's New York, 12 December 2013, lot 84. Mitsukoshi department store, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, by 1974. Japanese art market, 1974-1978. 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 11826-207724.
Our painted stucco was probably part of a decorative frame, like that visible in the cubiculum of the Villa of P. Fannius Sinistor, in Boscoreale, which is earlier but represents a model of continuity through the decoration of the Roman walls. This filling of the tablinum and other rooms with ornamental plant-type columns and panels decorated with leaves and plant scrolls is found in Pompeii in certain houses, such as that of Caecilius Jucundus. -
Roman Bronze Seated Wolf Statuette
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £111
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing, seated with right paw extended. 33.4 grams, 40 mm high
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection. -
Roman Bronze Standing Bear Statuette
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £60 - 80 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £33
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing. 22.8 grams, 33 mm
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
