Lot of 3 Roman Tinned Bronze Panels - Trees & Cupid

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 21, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-02-21 10:00:00 2019-02-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-3858
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• Lot Description
  Roman, later Imperial Period, ca. 3rd to 4th century CE. A trio of tinned bronze panels - each thin enough that they may be referred to as bronze foil ornaments - each decorated with a stamped and lightly incised motif that has been left untinned, creating an exposed bronze decoration with an undecorated, shiny, tinned surface highlighting it. This has now aged to have a mottled turquoise bronze patina. Each panel depicts a beautiful tree with a thick trunk that expands into a series of narrowing, sinuous branches, with leaves and grape clusters hanging from them. These trees dominate each panel. At the base of two of the three are additional, smaller motifs. On one, there is a small winged figure to one side of the tree trunk, probably the god Cupid (Eros). On the other is a bird-like anthropomorphic figure, probably a harpy, standing beside a round vessel, with one hand extended to touch the tree trunk. On each piece of foil, the sides are repeatedly pierced for attachment. Size of largest: 10.1" W x 15.5" H (25.7 cm x 39.4 cm); 16.45" H (41.8 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  What might have been the purpose of these bronze panels? Each is a long, rectangular panel that branches outward into arches at its top end. Perforations along the remaining top edges of two give an idea of their full size and extent. We know that similar items were used to decorate wood items, like the sides of chariots and chests. For example, a tomb at Paphos contained several pieces of bronze foil on their own, found on a bench at the right foot of the skeletal remains of the tomb's inhabitant. The authors of the report on that excavation speculated that the foil had covered a wooden box for holding money that had disintegrated.
  
  See a very similar example of a single piece that sold at Christie's for $16,250 USD in 2010: https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/ancient-art-antiquities/a-late-roman-tinned-bronze-attachment-circa-5385506-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5385506&sid=f8cdca23-43c8-44de-95b3-4ef753e38cb7
  
  See a similar style of bronze foil ornament from the Etruscan period at the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=396969&partId=1&searchText=roman+bronze+attachment&page=1
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-private collection, London, UK, acquired in the 1980s
  
  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.
  
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  #142807

  Condition

  Each is a fragment as shown, with losses along top and bottom edges and some small tears at the edges. Much of the tinned surface remains. Deposits and patina commensurate with age.
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