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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Ancient Art / Ancient Roman Bronze Beautiful Zoomorphic Waterbird...
A piece of the past, made to be worn Beautiful Ancient Roman Bronze Zoomorphic Waterbird Pendant – Museum Quality Amuletum Zoomorphum – Exceptional Collector’s Piece – ca. 1st–3rd Century AD Object Type: Zoomorphic Pendant / Amulet Culture: Ancient Roman Period: Roman Imperial Period, proposed ca. 1st–3rd Century AD Material: Bronze / Copper Alloy Technique: Cast and Hand-Finished; Modelled Relief Form: Stylised Waterbird with Broad Body, Raised Neck and Perforated Suspension Terminal Dimensions Height: 32.43 mm ± Width: 23.11 mm ± Depth: 14.51 mm ± Weight: 15.42 g A Cultural and Iconographic Assessment Certificate may be requested prior to shipment and prepared as a physical hard copy; all shipments are fully insured, warm museum-inspired lighting was used during photography to emphasize the object's surface, sculptural modelling and historic character naturally, and the suspension cord and other display accessories visible in the photographs are used exclusively for presentation and are not included with the object. Description & Comparative Assessment This museum-quality bronze zoomorphic pendant presents a highly stylised waterbird, probably a duck, modelled with a broad flattened body, raised curving neck, prominent eye and projecting bill. The substantial perforation through the upper terminal provides a clear suspension arrangement, placing the object within the functional vocabulary of personal pendants or amuleta. Avian amulets belong to a long Mediterranean tradition, while museum collections preserve duck and bird amulets within the Ptolemaic–Roman horizon, including examples dated approximately 200 BC–AD 200. Roman bronze objects also demonstrate the continued use of duck-head imagery in Imperial-period metalwork. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Its unusually sculptural profile, substantial 15.42 g construction, pronounced suspension aperture and richly variegated surface make this amuletum zoomorphum a particularly striking collector's piece of ancient zoomorphic metalwork. Information The identification of the figure as a waterbird, probably a duck, is based on its elongated raised neck, eye, projecting bill and broad body. The specific species remains an iconographic interpretation rather than a definitive zoological identification. The proposed Roman Imperial attribution is based on typological comparison with zoomorphic pendants, amuletic objects and avian imagery known within the wider Greco-Roman world. The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves several duck amulets assigned to the Ptolemaic or Roman Period (200 BC–AD 200), while its Roman collection includes a 2nd-century bronze kyathos terminating in a duck's head. The Metropolitan Museum of Art These examples establish the presence of duck imagery in the relevant cultural horizon but are comparative parallels rather than evidence of this object's provenance. The object has been documented using high-resolution imaging equipment, with its physical structure and form left entirely unaltered; only limited color-balance adjustments have been applied to ensure visual accuracy. As high-resolution imagery may influence the perception of scale, the photographs should always be considered together with the stated measurements. Statements concerning dating, intended function, iconographic interpretation and material identification represent academic assessments based on typological analysis, comparative museum material and expert opinion; more definitive conclusions would require direct physical and, where appropriate, laboratory examination. The presentation and sale of this object are conducted in accordance with principles of transparency, scholarly consistency and good faith, and no object is knowingly presented as a copy or imitation. Upon request prior to shipment, a signed ownership document issued in the buyer's name may also be provided. If requested prior to dispatch, the Cultural and Iconographic Assessment Certificate will be prepared as a physical hard copy and included with the shipment.
Estimate:£169.55
To the auctionView all items fromCatawikiorAncient Art
Estimate:
£169.55
A strand of Egyptian faience beads with scarab pendant
11/30/2017
£263.2
Est: £263.2
OCT 17 | 10:00 PM
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