A Roman Bronze Roundel with a Relief Bust of a Molossian Hound, circa 1st/2nd century A.D.
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A Roman Bronze Roundel with a Relief Bust of a Molossian Hound, circa 1st/2nd century A.D.
the hound with erect ears, eyes with incised pupils and a bared tongue, its curly fur articulated around the head and ears, with three perforations on the roundel for attachment.
bronze
diameter 5¼ in.
13.3 cm
Mathias Komor (1909-1984), New York (inv. no. F670);
James and Marilynn Alsdorf, Chicago, acquired from the above in 1979 (Christie’s, New York, Ancient Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, June 16th, 2020, lot 31, illus.);
Where acquired by the present collector.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, March 3rd-September 16th, 1990.
K. Alexander and M. Greuel, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, Chicago, 1990, no. 14.
Revered in antiquity for their immense strength, courage and unwavering loyalty, Molossian hounds (now an extinct breed, but an ancestor to the modern mastiff) were prized in the Classical world as hunting companions. The present roundel would have once been mounted as an architectural or furniture ornament.
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