Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0117
Roman Terracotta Lamp with Fighting Gladiators
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
4 7/8 in (84 grams, 12.4 cm).
Composed of a discoid body with sunken discus bearing a scene of two gladiators in combat in relief, tabula ansata below, ring handle and roughly D-shaped nozzle with volutes; old crack to base.
Provenance
From a German collection.
Ex Cambridge, UK, collection, 1980s.
Literature
Cf. Gilbert, F., Devenir Gladiateur, la vie quotidienne á l'ecole de la mort, La Capelle-Marival, 2013, pp.30-31, for similar lucernae.
Footnotes
The two gladiators seem to be wearing the armaturae of murmillones. All gladiators began their career as provocatores; the learning of their combat technique was polyvalent and allowed the fighters to specialise as a large shield-bearer (the scutati) like murmillones, or as a small shield-bearer, parmati, like the oplomachus.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0117
Roman Terracotta Lamp with Fighting Gladiators
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Roman Decorated Athlete's Bronze Strigil
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
With C-section scraper and handle with semi-circular profile, the handle engraved with a stylised fruiting vine, pierced for suspension, repaired. 90 grams, 21.5 cm
Fair condition.
European art market before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Ex collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Marble Head of Dionysus
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
From a Greek original, wearing a crown of leaves and corymbs, hair falling in straight lines underneath the diadem; full beard composed of four rows of thick tufts with drilled holes; slightly open mouth with a fleshy lower lip; low cheekbones and hollow cheeks; large almond-shaped eyes with lachrymal duct; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 15.8 kg total, 48 cm high including stand
Ex private French collection, early 1960s. Acquired by the current owner in 2011. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.129940. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12086-213624.
The head finds comparable parallels with a series of herms representing philosophers, lyricists and the god Hermes, deriving from Greek originals of the 5th century B.C. The reworking of these typologies in a cultured environment is due to the diffusion of sculptures linked to the idea of speculative otium and withdrawal into the bucolic world of which Dionysus was guardian and protector. The typology of the representation associates him with the concept of continuous rebirth and fertility of nature, typical of Dionysus Lenaeus. -
.jpg)
Roman Bronze Strigil
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,105
With C-section profile to the blade, rectangular handle with openwork slots to the upper end, impressed fishtail motif at the lower; mounted on a custom-made stand. 394 grams total, 20.5 cm high including stand
Ex Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819?-1899), France. Acquired from Jack-Philippe Ruellan, 4 April 2009, no.279. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.111441.
