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LOT 0141
Roman Marble Relief Head of a Goddess
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
12 1/2 in. (11.9 kg total, 32 cm including stand).
From a colossal relief, depicting a life-size head of a goddess or an Amazon with a smooth reverse; pronounced lips and wide brow; the hair arranged in waves leaving the ears partially uncovered, secured with a taenia; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceFrom an English private collection, 1970s-late 1990s.
English 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.12163-218598
Cf. Bonanno, A., Roman relief portraiture to Septimius Severus, Oxford, 1976, pls.294-295, 306, for similar portrait relief in style, from the Arch of Severus at Leptis Magna.
FootnotesThe style is akin to the sculptures of the Severan Age with a naturalistic treatment of the hair, and a more restrained use of the drill. The sculpture displays the same characteristic oval broad face with fleshy round cheeks, widely arched brow and big eyes of the portraits of Julia Domna. The alternative identification of the head as an Amazon can be deduced from the taenia and the details of the tear ducts, linked to a possible representation of a combat scene in which an Amazon suffers in agony after receiving mortal wounds.
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Roman Bronze Silenus Rider Figurine
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
Modelled in the round as a figure of a nude male with legs spread as if bestriding a horse; the bald head tilted an turned towards the right shoulder, with pointed ears, fleshy features and a full beard; a textile covering draped around the right thigh and lower body gathered in the left hand; the legs spread and feet dangling, with later holes for attachment pegs; the right arm extended perpendicular to the body and the hand bent round; the base of the spine with vestigial tail and the cloth draped as if on a horse's rump; mounted on a custom-made stand. 200 grams, 98 mm (362 grams total, 14 cm high including stand)
London art market, 1992.
The figure represents either Silenus himself, the aged and semi-bestial companion of Dionysus, or a Seilenos - a member of the feral group of which he was the leader. The attitude of the figure, with the right arm extended and the head tilted, suggests that there should have been an accompanying female figure to whom Silenus was paying full attention. As a devotee of Dionysus, Silenus is often shown with Bacchantes, female celebrants in the cult of wine-drinking, music and other pleasurable pursuits. -
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Bronze Age to Roman Bronze Artefact Collection
11th century B.C.-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Comprising two arrowheads with foliate head and square-sectioned tang and three awls. 45 grams total, 3.6-10.8 cm
Acquired prior to 2000. Ex private collection, Cambridgeshire, UK.
The two arrowheads are similar to specimens found in Luristan. They belong to the type V of the Khorasani classification. The bow was widely used by the Luristan people. The shape of the blade is often flat or ovate in the cross section with lanceolate profile and two cutting edges. -
Roman Bronze Ring with Recumbent Deer Facing Back Gemstone
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
With a slender D-section hoop, square raised bezel set with red carnelian intaglio, engraved with a recumbent deer before a small tree, its head resting on its back and a long arrow piercing its back. 2.30 grams, 21.32 mm overall, 16.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K, USA 5 1/4, Europe 9.95, Japan 9)
Private collection formed since the 1940s. UK art market. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
The iconography may refer to a version of a tradition in which Heracles shot the Ceryneian hind before it crossed the river Ladon.
