Lot of 2 Roman Marble Sarcophagus Panels - Matched Pair

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Exceptional Antiquities | Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Oct 11, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-10-11 10:00:00 2018-10-11 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities | Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-art-3500
An important one-day auction featuring museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Roman, Central Europe, Imperial Period, ca. 2nd to 3rd century CE. A beautiful pair of large sarcophagus sections, hand-carved from pale yellow-white marble, depicting two youthful fisherman in low to high relief. The figures stand atop delineated legs with finely-detailed musculature in 3/4 view, and each holds a woven basket in his left hand and a fishing rod in his right. The fishermen wear simple wraps around their waists and smooth caps atop their curly coiffures to protect them from the sun, all the while holding large-eyed fish on the ends of their lines. Each panel has thick borders around three-quarters of the periphery with only the backs of the fishermen exposed. Sublime examples of Roman funerary artistry! Custom museum-quality display stands included. Size of largest (right-facing): 7" W x 19" H (17.8 cm x 48.3 cm); 22" H (55.9 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The fishermen depicted here give the viewer a sense of youthful whimsy and freedom as if they have not a care in the world. Their dynamic postures and simple presentation exude a sense of movement as if each man has just pulled his fish up from the flowing waters while maintaining his balance along the sandy shoreline. The adherence to realism in this artistic presentation allows the sculptor to create a scene which ignites the imagination with a sense of understanding and appreciation for even the simplest of tasks.
  
  Roman sculptors were particularly skilled at capturing optical effects of light and shadow in order to attain greater realism and as time went on more impressionistic, abstract forms. This example, despite being a fragment, provides a window onto the style and technique of ancient Roman sculpture.
  
  The word sarcophagus literally means "flesh-eater" in Greek. Sarcophagi were coffins used throughout the Roman Empire beginning in the second century CE when inhumation burials became more popular than cremation practices of the Republican and early Imperial periods. The rise in sarcophagi usage was inspired by earlier Etruscan and Greek models. This example came from a particularly luxurious sarcophagus as it was made from marble. Less elite examples were made from other stones, wood, and lead.
  
  Provenance: private Davis collection, Houston, Texas, USA; ex-private El Paso, Texas, USA collection, acquired at Barakat Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #139276

  Condition

  Both panels are part of a larger marble sarcophagus. Each panel has surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, light fading to some finer details, minor nicks to carved details, around peripheries, and along verso, and some yellowing to marble. Nice earthen deposits throughout.
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