CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE SEATED SERAPIS WITH CERBERUS
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
22 ½ in. (57.2 cm.) high

Provenance

German private collection.
with Athena Gallery, Munich.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, acquired from the above, 1984 (Art of the Ancient World, vol. IV, 1985, no. 206).
Seymour Siege, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, acquired from the above, 1991.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, acquired from the above, 2004 (Art of the Ancient World, vol. XVI, 2005, no. 8).
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2008.

Literature

J. Pollini, "Roman Marble Sculpture," in M. Merrony, ed., Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Mougins, 2011, p. 93, fig. 36.
C. Dauphin, Animals in the Ancient World: The Levett Bestiary, Mougins, 2014, pp. 38, 105.
C. Dauphin, Les Animaux dans le Monde Antique: Le Bestiaire Levett, Mougins, 2016, pp. 34, 94, fig. 29.

Exhibited

Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA62).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

ccorsi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2607

Lot Essay

According to Woodford and Spier (p. 32, "Kerberos" in LIMC), "in Roman art, Kerberos not only appears in the traditional context of Herakles' labour and as a companion of Hades and denizen of the Underworld, but also in association with Serapis and other syncretised versions like Jupiter-Serapis, Hades-Serapis, etc." For a figure catalogued as Serapis with Cerberus in the Capitoline see inv. no. 1519 (Arachne Database no. 1104197); and for another Serapis in the Capitoline Museums see LIMC, vol. VII, p. 669, no. 10b.

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