Roman Glass Footed Cup

Squat in profile with sloped shoulder, everted flange rim. 13.7 grams, 50 mm



Acquired in the late 1980s. Private collection, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.

Oval in plan and plano-convex in section, depicting a boar at bay from a hound; set in a later heavy silver mount with French maker's mark and French assay mark; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 12.35 grams, 25.62 mm overall, 18.51 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)



American family collection, New York, formed 1930s-1990s. with Bonhams, London, 17 September 2014, no.96. Private collection, England.

The naturalistic rendering of the animal is particularly evident in the modelling of the muscles and shaggy fur, which originally belonged to a multi-figure group intended for prominent display in an official space, such as a public bath, or in the private gardens of a luxurious villa; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 155 kg, 89 cm (long), 41 cm (high) excluding stand



Acquired in Brussels, circa 1980. with Christie's, South Kensington, 6 October 2011, no.121. Jean-David Cahn AG, Basel, Switzerland. Private collection, England. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S00074876. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13079-249669.

The sculpture may represent the goat Amalthea, nurse of Zeus, one of the most famous animals in Graeco-Roman mythology. At the same time, it could simply be a representation of a ram, an animal typically sculpted in sacrificial reliefs of the Roman world.