Lot Essay
For a related balsamarium in the Musée du Petit Palais see no. 81 in Petit, Bronzes Antiques de la Collection Dutuit.
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CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
Details
A ROMAN BRONZE BALSAMARIUM
Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.
Superbly cast in the form of a youth seated on a rock with his right leg folded beneath him, supporting his head on his left hand which rests on his bent left knee, enveloped in a mantle emblazoned with ivy leaves on either side, a globular aryballos suspended from his left wrist, a cylindrical cista with a domed lid positioned between his legs, its sides embellished with silver, a lagabolon on the rock to his right, the vessel with a hinged domed lid with a central knob serving as its cap, on a cushion base
3½ in. (8.9 cm) high
Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.
Superbly cast in the form of a youth seated on a rock with his right leg folded beneath him, supporting his head on his left hand which rests on his bent left knee, enveloped in a mantle emblazoned with ivy leaves on either side, a globular aryballos suspended from his left wrist, a cylindrical cista with a domed lid positioned between his legs, its sides embellished with silver, a lagabolon on the rock to his right, the vessel with a hinged domed lid with a central knob serving as its cap, on a cushion base
3½ in. (8.9 cm) high
Provenance
Acquired by the current owner in London in 1999