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LOT 0130
Three Times Life-Size Roman Head of the Goddess Diana
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
28 3/8 in (99.5 kg total, 72 cm high including stand).
The goddess (Greek Artemis) with elegant features, sensual lips and deep eyes; detailed treatment of the hairstyle in transverse braids across the brow, laurel wreath with two rows of leaves resting above the forehead, an architectural element that was placed for the support of the sima of a building of great size; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx private Belgian collection.
with Madame Andree Mace collection.
English private collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Prof. Neritan Ceka.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11625-199748.
See Bartman, E., Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment in American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 105, No. 1 (Jan 2001), pp.1-25, for discussion of Roman hairstyling in its social context; Fischer-Hansen, T. & Poulsen, B. (eds.), From Artemis to Diana: the goddess of man and beast. Collegium Hyperboreum and Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen, 2009.
FootnotesThe upper part of the head, cut horizontally, creates a semi-circular surface, on which the rest of the hair, or an architectonic capital, may have been mounted into a T-shaped socket. The back of the head, cut perpendicularly, proves that the head was intended for architectural use, and not to be viewed in the round. This piece may have been intended as the head of a caryatid (a sculpture serving as a pilaster) or an architectural stone corbel (an architectural element placed to support the sima of a significant building).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0130
Three Times Life-Size Roman Head of the Goddess Diana
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13,000
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Roman Jasper Gemstone of a Grazing Goat in Gold Ring
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
Intaglio of a bearded goat standing on its hind legs against a tree on which it browses; large fruits hanging from two of the boughs; from a third bough to the right of the tree hangs what may be a dead hare, or possibly another fruit; set into a later gold ring; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.10 grams, 20.70 mm overall, 17.90 x 14.56 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L, USA 5 3/4, Europe 11.24, Japan 10)
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.
A single transparent vein in the jasper running from top left to bottom right has been utilised by the engraver to emphasise the trunk of the tree. -
Roman and Other Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £111
A short designer necklace with mixed group of graduated beads in matching colours, central feature a conical stone bead; restrung. 14.3 grams, 41 cm
From London, UK, gallery collection, 1990s. -
Roman Iridescent Glass Double Unguentarium
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
With rolled rim to each tapering tube, applied trail detailing to the body, lateral angled handles and large applied loop handle above; iridescent surface. 59 grams, 17 cm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12237-222167.
