Roman Limestone Cippus w/ Medical Gods & Inscription

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Exceptional Ancient, Ethnographic, & Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 9, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-03-09 10:00:00 2023-03-09 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Ancient, Ethnographic, & Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-ancient-ethnographic-fine-art-12354
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• Lot Description
  **First Time At Auction**
  
  Roman, Republican period, ca. 2nd to 1st century BCE. An important travertine limestone relief cippus or marker featuring the 3 gods of healing: Hygeia, the goddess of health, next to her brother Telesphorus, the child-god of recovery from illness, with their father, Asclepius the god of medicine, all standing in an archway as though passing through the threshold of the divine and mortal worlds. In contrapposto at the right, the bearded Asclepius wears a simple himation with a bare chest and grasps his serpent-entwined staff known as the asklepian. Hygeia, draped in a voluminous chiton, feeds a large fruit to a snake that wraps around her arms, while the hooded Telesphorus stands between them. Liberal remains of a Latin or Greek inscription are featured above and below the figures. A fabulous example of ancient medical iconography! Size: 8" W x 10.2" H (20.3 cm x 25.9 cm)
  
  In Greek and Roman mythology, Hygeia was one of the children of Asklepios and Epione, and was known as the goddess of health, hygiene, and cleanliness. While her father was associated with healing, Hygeia was associated with preventing illness and maintaining good health. Her name, of course, is the source for what we know of as hygiene. The son of Asclepius and sister of Hygeia, Telephorus was a demi-god of convalescence, who "brought to fulfillment" recuperation from illness or injury. He frequently accompanied his sister, Hygeia, as seen here. He was a dwarf whose head was always covered with a cowl hood or cap. He symbolized recovery from illness, as his name means "the accomplisher" or "bringer of completion" in Greek. Representations of him are found mainly in Anatolia and along the Danube. Telesphorus is assumed to have been a Celtic god in origin, where he would have become associated with the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, perhaps in Pergamon - an Asclepian cult center - and spread again to the West due to the rise of the Roman Empire, in particular during the 2nd century CE, from the reign of Hadrian, after Epidaurus, the main center of the cult of Asclepius, had adopted him.
  
  Prior to the 2nd century, Romans cremated their dead; around that time, inspired by the Greek and Etruscan practice of using sarcophagi, they began to place their dead in sarcophagi. This trend spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. In the western part of the Empire, sarcophagi were placed inside a mausoleum against a wall or in a niche, so the only decorated panels were on the front and the short sides. This stele probably came from the grave of a high-status Roman citizen.
  
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  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Andrew Sumi collection, purportedly acquired from a French collection in 1994
  
  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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  #176517

  Condition

  Nicks, chips, and abrasions, commensurate with age, but otherwise intact with liberal remains of inscription and detail.
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