A ROMAN BRONZE BALSAMARIUM IN THE FORM OF A YOUNG BOYS HEAD Circa 1st Century A.D. Large eyes with cut-out pupils gaze out looking slightly upwards, with the hair, arranged in flame-like locks covers the head, with two circular attachments either side of the crown, which is hinged to allow access, allow the vessel to be suspended from chains, These were containers for incense, perfume or cosmetics and were often in the form of a grotesque figure, 10.3cm high, Provenance:Collection of Louis de Clercq (1936 - 1901), Oignies, France; Private collection, Switzerland, acquired 1960s; thence by descent, Literature: Vessels in the form of heads had their origins in earlier times, Etruscan examples are illustrated David Gordon Mitten, Suzannah F. Doeringer, 'Master Bronzes from the Classical World' (Cambridge, 1967), p.222-3, nos 225 and 226. A Roman example in the form of a bust of Bacchus or Antinoos is in the Dumbarton Oaks collection (see Gudrun Buhl (Ed.), 'Dumbarton Oaks; The Collections', Harvard University Press, 2008, p.34-35).
A ROMAN BRONZE BALSAMARIUM IN THE FORM OF A YOUNG BOYS HEAD Circa 1st Century A.D. Large eyes with cut-out pupils gaze out looking slightly upwards, with the hair, arranged in flame-like locks covers the head, with two circular attachments either side of the crown, which is hinged to allow access, allow the vessel to be suspended from chains, These were containers for incense, perfume or cosmetics and were often in the form of a grotesque figure, 10.3cm high, Provenance:Collection of Louis de Clercq (1936 - 1901), Oignies, France; Private collection, Switzerland, acquired 1960s; thence by descent, Literature: Vessels in the form of heads had their origins in earlier times, Etruscan examples are illustrated David Gordon Mitten, Suzannah F. Doeringer, 'Master Bronzes from the Classical World' (Cambridge, 1967), p.222-3, nos 225 and 226. A Roman example in the form of a bust of Bacchus or Antinoos is in the Dumbarton Oaks collection (see Gudrun Buhl (Ed.), 'Dumbarton Oaks; The Collections', Harvard University Press, 2008, p.34-35).
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
