A Roman Marble Sarcophagus Relief Fragment with Racing Erotes, mid 2nd Century A.D.

from the right end of the front panel, carved in high relief with a fragmentary erote driving a biga in the circus, a second erote riding a horse next to him, a third one running away on the racetrack, the turning post visible above him, a wicker-covered amphora lying on the ground, a horse's leg and tail carved in low relief on the remains of the fragmentary short side.

found in 1756 in Montmartre when digging for the foundations of a house
Anne Claude Philippe de Thubières, Comte de Caylus (1692-1765), Paris
private collection, Île-de-France
acquired from the above by the present owner in 1977

Anne Claude Philippe de Thubières, Comte de Caylus, Recueil d'antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques, romaines et gauloises, vol. III, Paris, 1768, pp. 396ff., pl. 109, II
C.M. Grivaud, Antiquités gauloises et romaines, Paris, 1807, pp. 229-230
Jacques-Antoine Dulaure, Histoire physique, civique et morale de Paris, 4th ed., vol. I, Paris, 1829, p. 92
Émile Espérandieu, Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine, vol. IV, Paris, 1911, no. 3190
François Baratte and Catherine Metzger, Musée du Louvre. Catalogue des sarcophages en pierre d'époques romaine et paléochrétienne, Paris, 1985, p. 193
Michel Turcan, in K. Schauenburg, ed., Studien zur Mythologie und Vasenmalerei, Mainz, 1986, p. 223 (repr. M. Turcan, Études d'archéologie sépulcrale: sarcophages romains et gallo-romains, Paris, 2003, p. 145)
Konrad Schauenburg, Die Stadtrömischen Eroten-Sarkophage. Zirkusrennen und verwandte Darstellungen (Antike Sarkophagreliefs, 5,2,3), Berlin, 1995, p. 70, no. 363, pl. 11,3
Arachne, no. 3302613

As shown, still visible in the 1768 engraving are a small fragment of the upper edge comprising the head of a third horse, and another small fragment to the left, both now missing. The upper break on the present lot shows dowel holes indicating that these two fragments (either original or restored) were once reattached to the larger one and subsequently lost.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to Caylus, the present fragment was found, along with another sarcophagus fragment, at a depth of thirty-two feet inside a well located directly southwest of the Montagne de Montmartre. The land, which belonged  to the Fermier Général de la Boissière, was being excavated in order to build foundations for his new house. The other fragment, which Caylus gave to Louis XVI in 1762, is now in the Louvre (inv. no. Ma 3482), and although it also represents erotes and a chariot, does not seem to belong to the same sarcophagus as the present fragment (Baratte and Metzger, op. cit., 1985, no. 100).