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LOT 0144
Roman Marble Head of a Young Man
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
8 7/8 in. (5.94 kg total, 22.5 cm high including stand).
Worked in high-relief with hairstyle typical of the transitional period from the Consulate to the Empire; oval face with a prominent forehead, oval eyelids and clearly defined lines around the eyes; hair arranged in vertical lines combed back from the forehead; pronounced lips, typical rendering of the wide auricles; the lower part of the tunic visible with a well defined round edge around the neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceAcquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992.
European private collection.
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 number no.11996-211878.
See Bianchi Bandinelli, R., L'arte Romana nel centro del potere, dalle origini alla fine del II secolo d.C., Roma, 1969; Scrinari, V. S. M., Sculture Romane di Aquileia, Roma, 1972; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Greek & Roman Portraits 470 BC – AD 500, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1972, fig.32, for similar funerary portraits in high-relief; Vostchinina, A., Musée de l’Hermitage, Le portrait Romain, Album et catalogue illustré de toute la collection, Leningrad, 1974, plate I, for similar funerary portraits; Agnoli, N., Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Palestrina, Le sculture, Roma, 2002.
FootnotesThe head was probably pertinent to a series of funerary family portraits. It has realistic modelling of male features, which speaks of a portrait in reduced dimensions or a reference to a well-known person in the environment where it was exhibited. The portrait is worked only on the front, leaving the back, as well as the lower part of the sculpture, roughly treated.
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LOT 0144
Roman Marble Head of a Young Man
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000€4,640 - 6,960 (for guidance only)$5,400 - 8,100 (for guidance only)
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Roman Yellow Glass Flask
Circa 3rd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Mould-blown from translucent glass, the globular body on a circular flat base tapering at the shoulders to a cylindrical neck with an everted rim; a single applied handle; the body decorated with a horizontal band of a continuous Vitruvian wave framed by a double circumferential line, decorative ridges above and below; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 16.7 grams, 66 mm (33.9 grams total, 79.4 mm high including stand)
From the property of the late Mr SM, London, UK, 1948-2000. Ex J.L. collection Surrey, UK.
The pitcher belongs to a late Roman group decorated with granulated circles forming like volutes. The shape of these globular pitchers is well known since the 1st-2nd century A.D., with the rim folded up and the handle applied to the shoulders, but the decoration is more typical of a later age. -
Roman Bronze Folding Tripod Table with Busts of Bacchus and Panther
2nd century A.D.Estimate: £25,000 - 35,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £11,111
With three extendable legs each topped with bust of Bacchus, his long hair collected in a crown of vine leaves and branches, wearing a panther skin exomis; the feet formed as feline paws; the middle part of the frontal leg formed as an S-curve topped with a panther's head with open jaws. 9.9 kg, 101 cm
Traces of gilding over all the whole surface, fine condition, restored, excessively rare.
Ex collection of Dr Djafari (1900-1981), Kaiserslautern, Germany. 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 number no.11801-206499.
Folding tripod stands were well known in the ancient world, in both Greek and Roman contexts. These folding supports for tables, bracers and cauldrons are known finds from important excavations in the Roman world, like Pompeii. The purpose of such folding stands varied: during the meal they were placed between the triclinary beds, and bowls and application plates were hung to the hooks at the back of the holders, here shaped like the heads of a Bacchus. They were also used for the fire in military encampments, or in the temples of the gods. Others were used as the support frames for bronze bowls, either for washing or for ritual purposes. Many were offered as funerary gifts, like the splendid example in the chariot grave of Környe. Roman folding tripods were also used in religious rituals (here clearly linked to the cult of the god of wine, as shown by the presence of panthers) and sacrifices. Burnt offerings and libations were offered to the gods in cauldrons that would have been attached to the hooks behind the heads on the upper section. -
Roman Buffware Oil Lamp with Seahorse
Circa 3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Mould made with a solid round unpierced handle, broad horizontal shoulder separated from the discus by a shallow circular groove; upper filling-hole over the central part of the discus decorated by a seahorse leaping to the left, surrounded by volutes; slightly raised rounded nozzle, base-ring marked with two circular grooves. 57 grams, 76 mm
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.
The depiction of various animals is common on Roman lamps, appearing just as frequently as they do elsewhere in Roman art. Animals formed part of the decorative and symbolic schemes on monumental and funerary sculpture, frescoes and mosaics. The hippocampus symbolised water, power, bravery, and helpfulness. It was also defined as a symbol of hope, strength, and agility because of its ability to help people. This popular sea creature was connected with imagination and creativity and also associated with the god of the sea, Poseidon.
