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LOT 0194
Romano-British Marble Head of a Lady
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
6 3/4 in. (1.6 kg total, 17 cm high including stand).
Carved in the round with fleshy facial features, almond-shaped eyes and small pouting mouth; the hair modelled with hollowed curls above the brow; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Cambridgeshire, UK.
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.
Cf. similar in the collection of the British Museum, London under accession number 1973,0327.3; cf. Graham, F., Hadrian's Wall in the days of the Romans, Newcastle, 1984, pp.177-178; Clayton, P., A Companion to Roman Britain, Oxford, 1980, p.71, for similar style of sculptures; cf. Harley, E., Roman Life at the Yorkshire Museum, York, 1985, p.17, and De La Bédoyère, G., Roman Towns in Britain, London, 1993, p.118 (for similar hairstyle).
FootnotesThese kind of sculptures represented people or divinities of the Roman Britannia. They are found in several civilian tombstones, characterised by provincial style, that was enhanced by colouring which is absent today. The image here represented is a domina (a high-status middle-aged woman) in a typical hairstyle of 2nd-3rd century A.D. (Graham, 1984, p.222). In these provincial artworks the strong influence of the Celtic art is evident, especially in the eyes and hair of the sculpture.
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Large Roman Marble Bull's Head Sculpture
Circa 2nd century B.C.- 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Life-size bull's head (bucranium) on a rectangular field with flattened upper face and small ledge overhang; modelled in the half-round with detailed eyes, muzzle and dewlap, plain background; tooled texture to the forehead and dewlap; Eastern Empire. 98 kg, 51 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. 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.12081-213373.
The bucranium was used as a prominent motif on the exterior of Graeco-Roman temples where it replaced the use of genuine severed heads from the sacrificial rites. Garlands were draped over the heads on feast-days and occasions of special religious observance. The flattened upper face suggests an architectural use, perhaps as a corbel. -
Roman Bronze Fortuna Statuette
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
The goddess standing wearing a knee-length robe, bearing a cornucopia on her left arm. 89 grams total, 87 mm including stand
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.
Statuettes of Fortuna, the goddess of Chance, were evidently popular during the Roman Imperial times judging from the large number that have been found, and with the advent of the cult of Isis inside the Roman Empire the two divinities were identified as a single goddess. -
Roman Bronze Strap Junction and Pommel Group
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Five military strap junction and pommel elements, comprising: four strap junctions of various types including conical, ribbed, oval-shaped with incised cross motif and cruciform with arched panels to four faces; a pommel with domed base, waisted neck with broad collar and ovoid finial. 86 grams total, 17-26 mm
From an East London collection; previously in a collection formed between 1990-2000.
