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LOT 0162
Roman Lead Sarcophagus Panel with Sphinxes, Dolphins and Masks of Medusa
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
16 1/8 in. (6.4 kg, 41 cm wide).
Decorated with a high-relief pattern comprising sphinxes, dolphins and masks of Medusa in fields between columns; ropework and floral border strips with laurel leaves.
ProvenanceFrom a West Sussex, UK, collection, 1990s.
LiteratureSee Payne, G., Roman Leaden Coffin discovered at Plumstead in Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.17, 1887, fig.10, for the presence of lead sarcophagi in Roman Britain; for a similar specimen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no.31.116a-i; Penn Museum, coffin panel B10280, from Lebanon (Tyre).
FootnotesThere were many ways of burying bodies during the Roman Empire. Although the majority were buried without coffins, there is evidence for wooden coffins, lead-framed wooden coffins, tile burials and lead and stone coffins. This item belongs to types widespread in the Eastern Mediterranean. The panel is decorated with a columned structure, and within each section are symbols of the outer-world, including gorgons,
sphinx and dolphins. The sphinx, having a human head and breasts, legs and paws of a lion, and wings of a bird, was generally associated with protecting imperial tombs and temples. The roundels featuring the head of Medusa, known for her potent gazes that could turn one to stone, was favoured on sarcophagi and architectural ornaments because it was believed that her image would protect those within. The dolphin was considered to ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Very often these sarcophagi were connected by a pipe to the ground above so that
mourners could pour in offerings into the grave.
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LOT 0162
Roman Lead Sarcophagus Panel with Sphinxes, Dolphins and Masks of Medusa
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,420
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Roman Marble Statue of a Seated Female
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £7,500
A Roman copy after a Hellenistic original, probably representing the goddess Demeter or Aphrodite sitting on a rock with her legs slightly parted, left hand resting on her lap and holding a pomegranate(?); the right arm stretched out to her side and holding a water jug that appears to have been reworked at a later time; dressed in a floor-length chiton with vertical folds and fastened under the breasts by a high belt; himation only covering the lower part of the body leaving her pleated dress clearly visible between her legs; her wavy hair with central parting and collected in a soft chignon at the nape of the neck; the face with schematic features with large eyes and raised eyelids, a small fleshy mouth and a prominent chin. 14.9 kg, 39 cm high
Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11932-209624
The statuette seems to refer to the iconography of the goddess Demeter. Water, an element of purification, is a constant in the cult of this goddess, as is the fruit clutched in her left hand, most likely a pomegranate, an allusive attribute of nourishment and her relationship with Hades. The pomegranate links the iconography to the rape of Persephone, appearing among the funerary symbols as nourishment for the afterlife. Precise references and comparisons can be found with the terracotta statuette, found near Vetralla, in the National Etruscan Museum Rocca Albornoz of Viterbo and with the female bust of the sanctuary of Demeter of San Biagio in Agrigento, for the treatment of the hair and the facial features. The Demeter of Cnidus, a marble statue dated to 350 B.C., today in the British Museum, represents the goddess sitting on a throne wearing a long chiton and himation. The hairstyle with hair gathered in a low knot on the back of the head, however, references directly that of the Cnidian Aphrodite of Praxiteles. The statuette in question could be a copy of the Greek deity Demeter/Persephone created in Roman times, a period in which the cult overlaps with that of Ceres. In the early Imperial age there are examples of contamination of the iconography of Demeter/Persephone with Ceres, as attested among others by the statues of the Capitoline Museums inv. 231 and that of the Roman Theatre of Merida (Spain) in the National Museum of Roman Art, dated to the 1st century A.D. -
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Roman Intaglio Gemstone
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
With intaglio bird perching on a twig; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.38 grams, 10 mm
From the collection of a Swiss gentleman formed in Europe from 1970-1980s; thence by descent from the family in London. -
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Roman Bronze Dancing Sol Statuette
Circa 1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Standing nude on one leg on a cuboid socle base, the other leg raised and extended, right arm raised and bent, hand open to accept a sceptre, left arm extended with patera in the open hand, short mantle to the shoulders, hair and rays framing the face. 57 grams, 72 mm including stand
Acquired on the German art market before 2000. From an EU collection before 2020.
