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LOT 0159
Roman Marble Head of a Wealthy Lady
1ST CENTURY A.D.
16 1/8 in. (24.5 kg total, 41 cm including stand).
Carved in the round with dressed hair and braided band with fanned closure above the brow; finely modelled facial detailing; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of L.V. (1950-1960), Paris, France.
Collection of Monsieur X. (1931-2017), dispersed for the benefit of the Monaco Red Cross.
Private collection, Europe.
Accompanied by a copy of French passport no.229089.
See Felletti Maj, B.M., Museo Nazionale Romano, I Ritratti, Roma, 1953; Scrinari, V. S. M., Sculture Romane di Aquileia, Roma, 1972; similar portraits can be found in Aquileia (Scrinari, 1972, cat.141 p.50 and 245 p.81); s. also Fittschen, K., Zanker, P. and Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Mainz am Rhein, 1983; Zanker, P., Roman portraits, sculptures in stone and bronze in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2016.
FootnotesThe portrait is of an idealised feminine head, probably modelled on an Aphrodite type, with the hair in a bun on the nape, adorned with circles and with a tuft knotted at the top of the forehead, re-used as a portrait of a Roman lady. Many statue types were used both for portraits of women of the imperial family and for the portraits of other women, some of them based on images of goddesses.
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LOT 0159
Roman Marble Head of a Wealthy Lady
Estimate £10,000 - 14,000€11,600 - 16,240 (for guidance only)$13,500 - 18,900 (for guidance only)
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Roman Silver Ring with Carnelian Gemstone with Bird Holding a Branch
Late 1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Comprising a substantial hoop with wide, angled shoulders, bezel set with an oval orange carnelian intaglio engraved with a stylised bird holding a large branch in its beak; a marriage. 9.02 grams, 25.48 mm overall, 19.41 x 16.50 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O 1/2, USA 7 1/4, Europe 15.61, Japan 15)
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Green Glass and Other Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £26
Composed of various beads in an alternating pattern, the central feature with larger beads, including a dark green polygonal bead, restrung. 10.7 grams, 32 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Roman Bronze Three-Dimensional Vessel Mount
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Comprising a plaque of three conjoined lobes with segmented border; at the top, a loop with segmented rim; vignette with a nude male with shoulder-length hair embracing a taller bearded figure with kilt and mantle to left shoulder (Hercules?); below, a satyr with horns and goat's legs beset by hunting dogs. 286 grams, 13.8 cm
Acquired in 1992. Private collection, 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.12865-241702.
Vessel mounts of this form are not a commonly recovered artefact type, and the presence of two figures instead of one is a very singular feature. We can presume that the mount was attached to a vessel of large dimensions and of a certain importance.
