Roman Bronze Elephant Head, ex-Christie's, Bonhams

About Auction

Live

Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Oct 8, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-10-08 10:00:00 2020-10-08 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-5796
Museum-worthy examples of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal,Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine Art, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (353)

• Lot Description
  Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A gorgeous cast bronze elephant head, with beautiful realism - creased ears that flare out from the sides of the head, large, heavy-lidded eyes, curved tusks, and a fabulous trunk with skin and nostrils detailed. This item was likely a protome, attached to a piece of furniture like a couch or chest. The details on this piece are excellent, conjuring up a vision of the real animal, that the artist may have seen in an exhibition. Unlike the Greeks and Carthaginians, who used elephants for battle, the Romans used them chiefly for spectacle. This began in 275 BCE when those captured from Pyrrhus were displayed in triumph. Size: 1.95" W x 0.9" H (5 cm x 2.3 cm); 2.5" H (6.4 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  Pliny wrote ("Natural History" VIII.1, 77-79 CE), "The elephant is the largest of them all, and in intelligence approaches the nearest to man. It understands the language of its country, it obeys commands, and it remembers all the duties which it has been taught. It is sensible alike of the pleasures of love and glory, and, to a degree that is rare among men even, possesses notions of honesty, prudence, and equity; it has a religious respect also for the stars, and a veneration for the sun and the moon." Elephants captured the Roman imagination and became symbols of power - but also symbols of wildness and unpredictability. Their ivory also was highly prized. This playful protome would have served as a beautiful decoration in a Roman home, and a reminder of the power Romans exercised over everything in their dominion.
  
  Published in, A.S. Walker, "Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection", Part III, Mainz am Rhein, 1996, no. 173. and P.E. Mottahedeh, "Out of Noah's Ark, Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection", Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem, 1997, no. 98.
  
  Sold at Bonhams, London, in the Antiquities sale of November 28, 2018, Lot 68, for GBP 5250 (USD 6718).
  
  Provenance: private Lewis collection, Florida, USA; ex-Bonhams, London, in the Antiquities sale of November 28, 2018, Lot 68; ex-Christie's, A Peaceful Kingdom, The Leo Mildenberg Collection of Ancient Animals, London, 26-27 October 2004, lot 192; ex-Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) collection, Zurich
  
  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.
  
  #150434

  Condition

  Intact, with an interesting deposit on its head. Details are wonderfully preserved. It is attached to its stand with adhesive.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %