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LOT 0136
Roman Terracotta Lion Rhyton
LATE 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.
8 in. (1.5 kg total, 20.5 cm high including stand).
Modelled naturalistically in the round in an advancing pose with face, muzzle and tooth detailing within the open mouth, the tufts of the animal's mature mane individually rendered; filling hole on the back; the mouth open acting as a spout; North African workmanship; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenancewith Sotheby’s London, 9 December 1994, no.221.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Accompanied by copies of relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11797-206532.
Cf. Richter, G.M.A., Animals in Greek Sculpture, Oxford, 1930, pp.3ff; Toynbee, J.M.C., Tierwelt der Antike, Mainz-Rhine, 1983, pp.54ff.; Padgett, J.M. (ed.), Roman Sculpture in the Art Museum Princeton University, Princeton, 2001, p.257, no.97; Liverani, P., Spinola, G., Vaticano, La Sala degli animali nel Museo Pio-Clementino, City of Vatican, 2003.
FootnotesThe lion was famously featured in many ancient myths, perhaps the most famous being that of Hercules (Herakles) slaying the Nemean lion for his first labour, but it was also linked with the cult of the goddess Cybele, where it is usually represented sculptured in relief on either side of her throne.
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LOT 0136
Roman Terracotta Lion Rhyton
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000€5,800 - 8,120 (for guidance only)$6,750 - 9,450 (for guidance only)
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Roman and Anglo-Saxon Bronze Brooch Collection
2nd-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Comprising: two bow brooches; an equal-arm brooch with incised decoration; a large portion of a Saxon cruciform brooch; a brooch with a teardrop-shaped cell; a hybrid brooch with enamelled lozenge-shaped central plate. 62 grams total, 31-61 mm
Ex Hansons Auctions, Derbyshire, UK. Property of a Shropshire private collector. Accompanied by an old identification ticket for the equal-armed brooch. -
Roman Bronze Statuette Head of Apollo
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
With delicately modelled youthful features, thick hair framing the face adorned with a laurel-wreath secured at the rear, traces of silvering to the eyes; ledge base; possibly Apollo the sun-god, or a lar (guardian spirit). 31 grams, 32 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.
The use of domestic gods continued in the Roman Empire also in later times. Of particular interest is a group of sculptures discovered in the Theodosian Palace in Stobi. The finds consist of marble and bronze statuettes and reliefs that were deposited in one of the ornamental basins located in the peristyle. Four of the smaller bronze sculptures— a lar, Apollo, Venus, and a satyr— may have formed the contents of a lararium. The palace was in use until the 5th century A.D., but the sculptures consists of heirloom and reused pieces dated at 2nd-1st century B.C. However, an unusual feature of this bronze assemblage is the fact that they date overwhelmingly to the 3rd century A.D. -
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1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With intaglio scene of a man milking a goat with one leg extended, his back resting on a tree-trunk; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.79 grams, 12 mm
Collected from 1970-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. Accompanied by a previous catafalque information slip.
