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LOT 0164
Roman Marble Figure of a Persian Water Carrier
2ND CENTURY A.D.
23 1/2 in. (39.45 kg, 59.7 cm).
Depicted kneeling on his right knee, his left hand resting on his left knee, his right arm raised to support the water jar on his shoulders, shown wearing a Phrygian cap over his curling hair, dressed in a belted tunic falling in thick folds, the lower drapery stretched over the knees, and strapping on the legs, with a long cloak over the top, pinned at his right shoulder and falling down his back, set on an integral base.
ProvenanceEx private collection, Europe.
Ex Australian collection, 1960s.
On loan to La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, 1981-1986.
Bonhams, London, 28 April 2010, no.139.
Private collection, Europe.
Accompanied by a printed copy of the Spanish cultural export licence no.1775-3178156.
Accompanied by a copy of the Graham Geddes, Antiques & Antiquities invoice, 17 April 2007.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.2709AM.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages.
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. 10272-168595.
Cf. Schneider, R.M., Bunte Barbaren, Worms, 1986, plates 12-13, for similar depictions; see also Smith, A.H., A catalogue of sculpture in the department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, vol.III, London, 1904; Bianchi Bandinelli, R., Roma, l’arte romana nel centro del potere, Milan, 1969; Schneider, R.M., Bunte Barbaren, Orientalenstatuen aus farbigem Marmor in der römischen Repräsentationskunst, Worms, 1986, pls.1-13 and particularly 11-12.
FootnotesThe image of the subjected foreigner (‘barbarian’) became particularly prevalent in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries A.D. as a reflection of increased Roman expansion and part of an iconography of empire and triumph. The clean-shaven face of this figure indicates that it represents a so-called 'Oriental', i.e., a Persian, instead of a bearded European.
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LOT 0164
Roman Marble Figure of a Persian Water Carrier
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000€46,400 - 69,600 (for guidance only)$54,000 - 81,000 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£20,000 (EUR 23,200; USD 27,000) ‡+BP*
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Roman Bronze Stylus Pair
Circa 1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £60 - 80 (+bp*)
Bids: 2 | Current Bid: £10
Each with a round-section body and a sharply pointed end, the other end flattened to form the eraser. 23.9 grams total, 11.2 -13.6 cm including stand
Found Reculver, Kent, UK. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. -
Roman Bronze Head of the Goddess Juno
1st century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £450
Hollow-form head of a young woman with hollowed-out eyes, wearing a fillet and her hair pulled back into a high chignon with dressed curls framing the face. 180 grams, 52 mm
UK private collection assembled 1970s-1990s, and thence to the liquidated estate of above. Accompanied by letters from the relevant authorities renouncing any current or future claim over this piece. -
Roman Blown Glass Jug
2nd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £110
Bulbous body and rounded underside, long neck, trumpet-shaped mouth with applied rim, applied strap handle with ribbing. 40 grams, 96 mm
Acquired in the 1992. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Roman glass from the 2nd to 4th century A.D. gives a fascinating insight into everyday life in the Roman Empire. By this time, glassmaking had become highly skilled, and glass vessels were being produced on a much larger scale than before. Thanks to the development of glassblowing, makers were able to create practical as well as attractive objects such as bottles, flasks, jars, and drinking vessels. Much of the glass from this period has a soft blue-green tint, caused by natural elements in the raw materials. Although some pieces were finely decorated, many were made for ordinary daily use, showing how glass had become far more common and accessible across Roman society.
