A ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF PANEL
A ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF PANEL

CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF PANEL
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
Carved in high relief with small vessel, or corbita, with curving stern and mast with furled sail, manned by a seated, nude, bearded sailor, grasping oars in his hands, the waves indicated below
10 5/8 x 14 1/8 in. (36 x 27 cm.)
Provenance
with B. C. Holland Inc., Chicago, from whom acquired by the present owner in 1993.

Brought to you by

Georgiana Aitken
Georgiana Aitken

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Lot Essay

A corbita was a staple of the Roman merchant fleet. They could vary in size and were easily handled by a small crew, and were often used for coastal and river journeys, particularly the route from Ostia up the Tiber to the capital. For more depictions, cf. 'Marble relief showing a man, perhaps an African, sailing a corbita', British Museum, inv. no. 1850,0304.32, and J. Chamay, Ostia: Port de la Rome Antique, Geneva, 2001, p. 78 and 79. The nudity of the figure in the present lot is unusual, and, along with his heavy beard, may suggest that he is a foreign, rather than native Roman, sailor.

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