Roman 'Somerset and Devon' Terracotta Roof Tile Fragment Group

With broad bowl and inturned rim, D-section handle, with one remaining hooked duck-head-head finial. 208 grams, 26.5 cm



Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.

Modelled in the round in cream-coloured marble; the hips and right leg of a slender male standing beside a column with the lower part of an animal at the base; the figure modelled with narrow hips and waist in contrapposto stance, genitals removed, muscular leg with slender ankle; adjacent column with remains of a branch or spur at the top, developing to a flared base with a crouching hare or rabbit; mounted on a custom-made stand. 101.4 kg total, 99 cm including stand



Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. 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.12088-213904.

Despite the loss, the semi-circular rise that separated the ribcage from the abdomen highlights the muscles of a young athlete or a hero. The statue could represent many male heroes or deities (Reinach, 1897, p.210 no.2, 817 no.4), but, by comparison with a similar sculpture in the Brussels Museum, it could refer to a rare image of the handsome and ferocious hunter Hippolytus, son of Theseus and the Amazon Antiope, killed by the curse of his father due to Phaedra’s deception. The presence of the small hare or rabbit at the base of the column could confirm the hypothesis of a hunter hero, and finds its parallel with the small animals (gecko and panther) visible on the Brussels sculpture.

Substantial pin with slight bulb below the finial formed as a stylised bird modelled in the round with bulbous head and eyes, lobed tail. 32.9 grams, 15.5 cm



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.