CIRCA LATE 2ND - EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF HEAD OF DIONYSUS
CIRCA LATE 2ND - EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.
9 ½ in. (24 cm.) high

Provenance

Elsa Bloch-Diener collection, Bern, acquired prior to 1985.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Beatrice Campi

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Lot Essay

Probably from a high relief sarcophagus, this head mostly likely comes from a panel showing a multi-figural dionysiac scene. According to J. Stubbe Ostergaard (Imperial Rome, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 1996, p. 93), there are about 430 sarcophagi with dionysiac scenes known, produced from about 130 A.D. to 300 A.D., with processions featuring Dionysos and Ariadne being the most common.

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