Details

LOT 0644

Roman Terracotta Bust of a Boy

1ST-CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

6 3/4 in. (341 grams, 17 cm high).

A terracotta bust of a boy mounted on an integral channeled plinth base, modelled with semi-naturalistic facial features and a cropped hairstyle, wearing a bulla and a sash over the left shoulder.

Provenance

Ex private German collection, 1960; thence by descent.
with Auktionshaus Owl, Bielefeld, Germany, 5 September 2015, Lot 40605.

Literature

Cf. Papantoniou, G., Michaelides, D., Dikomitou-Eliadou, M., Hellenistic and Roman Terracottas, Monumenta Graeca et Romana, Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2019, fig.R22661, p.93, for similar style.

Footnotes

In ancient Rome, the bulla was an amulet given to every boy nine days after his birth. The meaning, origins and use of the bulla are in some ways enigmatic and still a subject of research for scholars. The bulla was worn around the neck during childhood and adolescence. Depending on the social status and wealth of the family who commissioned it, different materials were used; on rare occasions it was made fully in gold, if the child belonged to a family of the high Roman aristocracy, or more commonly made in lead covered with a gold foil. The bulla was also made for the poorer classes in lesser materials, such as fabric or leather.