A bronze figure of a crouching Gladiator

This bronze is one of a very small number of variants of the same model which can be further divided into three types. The third of these types is thought to be later and is generally attributed to Adrien de Vries (Leithe-Jasper, op. cit., pp. 163-165, no. 40). The earlier two types are much closer to each other. The present bronze corresponds to one of these types, of which only two other examples are known (National Gallery of Art, Washington (formerly Widener collection Philadelphia), and the David Daniels collection, New York (offered for sale Sotheby's, 20 April 1989, lot 55)). This type is characterised by a greater expressiveness of the face and more detailed rendering of the helmet. The bronze offered here is further distinguished from the other examples in that the right foot trails behind, giving the figure a greater sense of forward motion. In both the Washington and Daniels examples this foot is used to help support the gladiator, thus giving him the ability to recoil as well as spring forward.

Pre-Lot Text

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY