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LOT 0846
Roman Oil Lamp with Leda and The Swan
2ND CENTURY A.D.
4 in. (77 grams, 10.3 cm).
A Roman North African terracotta oil lamp with grooved ring handle; discus decorated with the mythological scene depicting Leda and the swan embracing.
ProvenanceDr Suzanne Gozlan, thence by descent.
Suzanne Gozlan (1921-2022), a doctor of History and Archaeology, served as a professor at the Ecole Normale d'Instituteurs de Chartres and lectured at the University of Paris 4 Sorbonne.
Property of a Bristol, UK, gentleman.
Cf. a similar lamp in Jean Bussiere and Birgitta Lindros Wohl, Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum, item 358.
FootnotesIn Greek mythology, Leda was the wife of King Tyndareus and queen of Sparta. According to the myth, Zeus, the king of the gods, was captivated by Leda's beauty and appeared before her in the form of a swan. He then either raped or seduced her and impregnated her. The same night, Leda slept with her husband who also impregnated her, as a result of these two unions she laid two eggs, each containing one set of twins. According to later Greek mythology Leda bore Helen (of Troy) and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0846
Roman Oil Lamp with Leda and The Swan
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Medical Implement with Inscription
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Acquired on the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. From a gentleman's private collection.
The fragment is possibly the upper part of a sharp pointed retractor, which was used for delicate operations on the tonsils and other internal parts of the body. The inscription probably refers to the name of the doctor, possibly LV[CIV]S HINT[IUS]. -
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Opening Bid: £1,000
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