Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art
Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art
Property from a Swiss Private Collection
A BRONZE FIGURE OF ARES OR A HEROIC WARRIOR, LATE HELLENISTIC, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.
Auction Closed
December 3, 05:06 PM GMT
Estimate
60,000 - 90,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Swiss Private Collection
A BRONZE FIGURE OF ARES OR A HEROIC WARRIOR, LATE HELLENISTIC, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.
standing with the weight on his right leg, the right arm lowered and left arm bent at the elbow, both hands (the right one restored) once holding implements, the nipples inlaid in copper, his head turned to his left, with full beard and silvered eyes with recessed pupils, his curly hair surmounted by a Corinthian helmet pushed back and with straps upturned, the separately-made crest now missing.
Height 23.8 cm.
Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001), Zurich
Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979), acquired from the above in 1963
by descent to the present owner
For related examples see E. Bielefeld, "Bronzestatuette des Wadsworth Atheneums in Hartford/Connecticut," Antike Plastik, vol. 1, 1962, pp. 39ff., pls. 30ff. (A. Kozloff and D. Mitten, et al., The Gods Delight. The Human Figure in Classical Bronze, 1988, no. 58, pp. 312-315) and J. Frel, Greek Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1981, p. 41, no. 2.
In a manuscript note kept in the archives of Leo Biaggi de Blasys, the present figure is described as follows: "Statuette en bronze, hauteur 23.4 cm. de l’époque hellénistique, fin 2e/début 1er siècle av. Chr. La statuette représente Ares (ou un stratège) nu, coiffé d’un casque. Il portait sans doute un bouclier et lance qui sont perdus. Les yeux sont en argent, les pointes de la poitrine en bronze clair. La main droite est restaurée. Pièce magnifique et particulièrement fine 'probablement inspirée par une statue de l’époque classique' (selon M. Charbonneau[sic])." French archaeologist Jean Charbonneaux died in 1960.