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GROTESQUE BRONZE HEAD
See original version (French)
123
-
GROTESQUE BRONZE HEAD
See original version (French)
Estimate €3,000 - €5,000
Voluntary lot
Description
GROTESQUE BRONZE HEAD
Hellenistic art, circa the 1st century BC
A grimacing male head, wearing a tall cap decorated with engraved scrolls; the nose is phallic in shape, the tongue is sticking out, the eyes are wide open and the features are sharply defined. There is a small perforation on the reverse for mounting.
The object is complete and was probably intended to serve an apotropaic function.
Height: 5.7 cm
Provenance: Former American private collection, Florida, acquired around 1980
French private collection
Charles Ede Limited, London
Christian Levett Collection, Mougins Museum of Classical Art, acquired in 2010
Exhibitions: Mougins Museum of Classical Art (MACM), Mougins, France, June 2011–August 2023 (Inv. No. MMoCA571)
Caesar & Cleopatra, Historisches Museum Der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany, 13 April – 26 October 2025
Bibliography: J. Spier, ‘Roman Bronzes’ in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, France, 2011, p. 140, fig. 35
A Hellenistic bronze ithyphallic head of a grotesque,
Circa 1st century BC.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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