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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.
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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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 Decorated Terracotta Fragment
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
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From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Roman Floor Mosaic Section
North Africa, 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With portion of original matrix and five rows of tesserae in grey, black, cream and white. 213 grams, 79 mm
Acquired Tunisia, North Africa. From a pre World War II collection, thence by descent. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.
In African mosaics, combinations of black and white and cream tessellated mosaics often form the borders of important mosaics, such as those of El Jem, representing the love between Satyrs and Bacchants, or the myth of Leda and the Swan. -
Roman 'Columbarium at Ostia' Terracotta Sepulchral Urn Lid
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Of domed profile with central vent; old handwritten label to reverse 'Lid from an urn from Columbarium at Ostia. [...] 1867' and another, typed, to the obverse 'Lid of sepulchral Urn from Columbarium at Ostia (From Rev. J. Pyke'. 492 grams, 21 cm
Found Columbarium at Ostia, Italy, in 1867. From the 19th century collection of Rev J. Pyke. From the collection of a late East Anglian teacher and antiquarian who retired to the Isle of Wight in Hampshire, UK. He amassed a large collection of objects between the 1960s-1980s.
