A ROMAN MARBLE TABLE SUPPORT, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D. | A Roman Marble Table Support

with profiled base, slightly tapering shaft of quadrangular section, and profiled cornice, a voluted and square tenon on each side, carved in high relief in front with the bust of a satyr wearing an animal skin and holding a pedum behind his neck, his hair crowned with vine leaves, and on the back with a cuirass; no restorations.

Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), Palazzo Mozzi Bardini, Florence, circa 1900
Paul Mayen (1918-2000), New York, acquired at an art fair in New York in 1984
acquired from the above by the present owner

RECORDED
circa 1900 photograph showing the support in Stefano Bardini’s palazzo in Florence (Musei Civici Fiorentini, Fototeca, Fondo Storico Bardini) PUBLISHED
Annalea Tunesi, Stefano Bardini’s photographic archive: a visual historical document, PhD thesis, University of Leeds, 2014, p. 220, photograph no. 6

As shown. Upper cornice chipped around most of its perimeter and missing altogether on one side. Minor chips and abrasions to other protruding parts, such as some edges and corners of base mouldings, nose and chin of satyr, some edges of volutes and corners of tenons, etc. Rusty iron sleeve inserted into circular hole on top, probably meant for insertion of a rod when the table support was used as a pedestal in the 19th century (see Bardini photo published in catalogue).
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The number 18557-175 is painted in red on the side of the base. There are several such table supports decorated with busts in relief, including one with a bust of Artemis at Hever Castle (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/objekt/7358), and three examples with the same type of Athena bust (LIMC II, p. 1076, no. 6, pl. 785; Sotheby’s, New York, December 10th, 1999, no. 292). 

Another example with a bust of a satyr, although simpler in execution, is in Rome: A. Giuliano, ed., Museo Nazionale Romano. Le sculture, vol. I.7, 1984, p. 542f., no. XXV,8. 

The backs of these supports are usually decorated with bucrania; the cuirass carved on the present example seems to be unique (for the type of the cuirass compare the cuirass serving as support of a male statuette from Pompeii: D. Kreikenbom, Bildwerke nach Polyklet, 1990, p. 172, no. III.34, pl. 164).

The fragmentary Roman marble bearded head displayed on top of the present lot in the Bardini photograph appears by itself in G. Capecchi, The Historical Photographic Archive of Stefano Bardini: Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art, 1993, p. 65.