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LOT 0900
Roman Gilt Bronze Phalera with Theseus and the Minotaur
2ND CENTURY B.C.- 2ND CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (32 grams, 49 mm).
Domed roundel with high-relief design of combat between a bearded hero and a monster, wreath and rosettes to the rim.
ProvenanceFound near Sedgeford, Norfolk, UK, in the 1980s.
Acquired in the late 1990s.
Property of a Norfolk, UK, collector.
Cf. for surviving examples of this type of medallions or phalerae, often with an animal, compare various examples in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, inv. nos. 31630 and Fr. 1552 g 6-8; Babelon, E., and Blanchet, J.-A., Catalogue des bronzes antiques de la Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris, 1895, nos.12-13, 55, 65-66, 110, 132, 178, 193, 214, 264, 316-17, 359-60, 369, and 445; nos. 25, 28, 120, 143-44, 253, 301, 400, 434, 491, 622, 712, 715, 827, 844, and 1022.
FootnotesAccording to the legend, Theseus, prince of Athens, went to the island of Crete to kill a monster who was the son of queen Pasiphae and a wild bull, although officially he was the son of Minos and Pasiphae. Theseus chased him into the labyrinth, killed him and found his way out with the help of the comb of Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. The myth has its representation in the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period, and was widely depicted in the Graeco-Roman world. The present repoussé appliqué was probably used as a furniture or horse harness ornament.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0900
Roman Gilt Bronze Phalera with Theseus and the Minotaur
Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
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Roman Bronze Pin Finial with Actor
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With an iron pin, the finial formed as a standing comedy actor with long curly hair, hands clasped together. 22.7 grams, 89 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Black Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £52
Restrung graduated group of mainly spherical and annular beads with annular centrepiece. 17.09 grams, 49 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
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Roman Marble Head of a Satyr
Late 1st-early 2nd century A.D.Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £20,000
Finely carved head of a young satyr with arched brows, pointed ears and tousled curly hair, his short rounded horns projecting from the hairline, lips drawn back in a mischievous smile with the tip of his tongue protruding to his right; head turned to his right, eyes slightly downcast; traces of wattles to each side of the jaw, tip of nose abraded, forelock chipped; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 18.2 kg total, 40 cm including stand
Christoph Bernoulli (1897-1981), Basel, possibly acquired from Münzen & Medaillen AG, Basel; thence by descent. 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 no.12188-222442.
The head seems a work of the 2nd century A.D., derived from Hellenistic prototypes, likely based on a Greek original of the 4th or 3rd century B.C. traditionally associated with the work of Praxiteles, Skopas or Lysippos, depicting a standing Pan playing the flute with his legs crossed. However, both the present head and the Princeton example, always after Hellenistic prototypes of the mid-2nd century B.C., are close to the statue of the so-called Young Centaur signed by Aristeas and Papias, in bigio morato, which was found at Tivoli in Hadrian’s Villa and is now in the collection of the Capitoline Museum (inv. No. MC0656).
