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LOT 0120
Roman Lead Figure of Aphrodite Holding a Severed Swan's Head
1ST-3RD CENTURY A.D.
7 5/8 in. (327 grams, 19.5 cm).
Modelled in the round nude and and raising her right arm, holding the neck of the swan (her animal attribute); left arm descending towards her pubis, legs in contrapposto stance; gusseted drum-shaped base.
ProvenanceAcquired 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.12099-218223.
Cf. Boucher, S. & Tassinari, S., Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine a Lyon: Bronzes Antiques I. Inscriptions, Statuaire, Vaisselle, Lyon, 1976, item 66, for type.
FootnotesAlthough the presence of the swan in this position is rather rare, iconographically, this image is part of the abundant series of statuettes of Aphrodite/Venus widely distributed during the Roman Imperial era.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0120
Roman Lead Figure of Aphrodite Holding a Severed Swan's Head
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Statuette of a Germanic Captive
Late 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Depicted as a bearded man, seated and naked apart from a hood or cap on his head, with rope binding the hands together and extending around the neck and ankles; pierced vertically at the shoulders; probably a sliding mount for a thong or cord; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 55 grams total, 79 mm including stand
From 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.
Statuettes of foreign ‘barbarian’ prisoners of this type have been found along the Danube. Their spread coincides with the Marcomannic wars of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The Swabian knot in this warrior’s hair has parallels with the warrior depicted on the contemporary Sarcophagus of Portonaccio, which represents a battle between Romans and Germanic Gauls. -
'The East Lindsey' Romano-British Bronze Hooded Male Statuette
43-150 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
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Found whilst searching with a metal detector in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, UK, on Wednesday 19th August 1998. From 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. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.NLM995.
This small statuette of a male figure in short hooded cloak (cucullus) has the left arm raised towards the chin, and the right arm lies on left arm just below the wrist. A similar statuette in PAS is identified as possibly depicting an adorant. -
Roman and Other Bead Necklace
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £117
Restrung designer necklace with polyhedral, oblate, tubular and other beads, centrepiece an annular bead. 23.4 grams, 37 cm
Acquired on the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, gallery.
