A Roman marble lion head from a strigilated sarcophagus
Circa 3rd Century A.D.
Carved and drilled in deep relief, the snarling face turned to the left, with a wrinkled nose and furrowed brow, the eyes sunken into the deep sockets, peering upwards to the left, the eyeballs with incised irises and deeply recessed 'lunate' pupils, the open mouth with large twisted incisors and a protruding tongue, a large fluted circular knocker handle looped through the jaws and hanging across the chin, the thick drilled mane framing the face in tufts and curls, extending down the right side of the head as it emerges from the sarcophagus, with remnants of the deep furrows of the strigilation visible behind, 23½in. (59.6cm.) high, 17in. (43.1cm.) diam., some chips, mounted
Carved and drilled in deep relief, the snarling face turned to the left, with a wrinkled nose and furrowed brow, the eyes sunken into the deep sockets, peering upwards to the left, the eyeballs with incised irises and deeply recessed 'lunate' pupils, the open mouth with large twisted incisors and a protruding tongue, a large fluted circular knocker handle looped through the jaws and hanging across the chin, the thick drilled mane framing the face in tufts and curls, extending down the right side of the head as it emerges from the sarcophagus, with remnants of the deep furrows of the strigilation visible behind, 23½in. (59.6cm.) high, 17in. (43.1cm.) diam., some chips, mounted
Sold for
£62,400
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance:
Formerly the Property of Gawain McKinley acquired before May 1996
Literature:
Cf. H. Oehler, Foto & Skulptur, Rominische Antiken in englishen Schlössern, pl. 69 and S. Walker, Catalogue of Roman Sarcophagi in the British Museum, (London), nos 39 & 40, p.35. This head probably belongs to the group of lenoi sarcophagi carved in Rome and Ostia during the 3rd Century A.D. Such lion-headed sarcophagi grew in popularity and use, as they were less expensive to produce than the more complex figural ones.
Category: Antiquities
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