CIRCA 3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN BONE FEMALE FIGURE
CIRCA 3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
Wearing high headdress in centrally parted hair, 'Venus' rings around her neck, her separately attached arms bent at the elbow and held out in front, mounted, 3¼ in. (8.5 cm.) high; a bone spindle, with finial in the form of a bust of Athena wearing high-crested helmet, head turned to her right, the lower end terminating with a loop with foliate decoration, 8½ in. (21.5 cm.) long; and a group of bone items including a figure of Aphrodite, the nude goddess standing with hair bound in chignon, her left hand holding her drapery over her legs, right arm below her breasts; another similar draped torso, 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm.) high max.; a cosmetic applicator surmounted with the bust of a woman, her hair in an elaborate high coiffure, broken away at tip, 5 in. (12.5 cm.) high, all mounted; a cosmetic spoon with round bowl, 5 in. (12.5 cm.) long; and a pin with terminal in the form of a hand holding a pomegranate, 4¾ in. (12 cm.) long, all Roman Period and later, circa 1st-6th Century A.D.(a lot)

Provenance

German private collection, formed during the 1960s-1970s.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries. Please note that descriptions of lots in this catalogue do not include references to condition. Condition reports are available on request. Please contact the Antiquities department administrator.

Lot Essay

Item two: cf. exhibition catalogue, Romans and Barbarians, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1976, p. 30, no. 38 for a similar ivory 'finial'; and H. von Ludwig Wamser and G. Zahlhaas, Rom und Byzanz, Munich, 1998, pp. 150-151 for bronze spindles.

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