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LOT 0790
Roman Redware Ram Pottery Sherd
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
3 in. (50 grams, 77 mm wide).
Fragment of a terracotta votive statuette representing a ram, detail to the horns, ears and fleece; set with a suspension ring on the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1960s-1990s.
From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
Cf. Burr, D., ‘The terracotta figurines’ in Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Vol. 2, No. 2, The American Excavations in the Athenian Agora: First Report, (1933), pp.184-194, fig.7, no.636, T50, for similar.
FootnotesMany figurines of this type have been found in the Hellenised Roman provinces of the east and one identical in the Athenian Agora. They are all rendered with incisions that are characteristic of the technique of the late fourth century. Many similar examples were found in the Kerameikos and some are in the National Museum of Archaeology, Athens. A similar technique is observable in the plastic handles representing animal heads which occur on red pottery ornamented with white paint.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Marble Panther Protome Fragment
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Sculpted as a panther with head turned on its long muscular neck, mouth open and teeth bared; highly polished finish; mounted on a custom-made stand. 758 grams total, 15 cm high including stand
Previously acquired from a USA collection, 1980s. Ex private German collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12082-213586. -
Large Roman Tinned Bronze Patera
1st century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
With a deep bowl and flat-section handle with integral loop; shallow concentric grooves around the exterior of the neck, rolled rim, concentric rings to the underside; finished on a lathe; cracked and split. 903 grams, 33 cm wide
Acquired in Europe before 1993. Private collection, Europe. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11788-206494.
In contrast to their elaborate counterparts, paterae such as this were likely carried as part of the standard kit of Roman soldiers, used as a general cooking and eating utensil. The regular heap up (sarcina) of the legionaries is well represented on the reliefs of Trajan's column. It was composed of a T stake (furca), to which a linen bag (sacculus) was hung, as well as the leather haversack for 15-20 days supplies (trinum nundinum) and personal effects, a pot (ollula), a cup (patera), and a basket for work on the fields. -
Roman Bronze Harpokrates-Eros Statuette
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Seated nude wearing the double-crown and with his forefinger pressed to his lips; supporting a frond on his left arm; hollow to the underside. 48 grams, 56 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.
Harpokrates was the Greek interpretation of the Egyptian god Har-pa-khered (Horus the child), usually depicted as a small boy. Statues of Harpokrates are preserved in the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria (inv.25785), and at the Musei Capitolini, Rome (inv. Scu 646).