Francesca Hickin
Head of Department
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Lot 97
A Greek marble funerary stele
28 November 2019, 10:30 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £18,812.50 inc. premium
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Anna Marston
Associate Specialist
A Greek marble funerary stele
Hellenistic Period, circa 2nd-1st Century B.C.
In the form of a naiskos, the pediment with central roundel and acroteria at the corners, with a scene carved in high relief within a rectangular recess, flanked by columns, depicting a boat on a wavy sea with four occupants, the central standing draped male figure assisting a seated male with a rudder (?), another male wearing a short tunic and standing at the prow holding the mast and unfurling the sail, the fourth male seated and holding a long oar at the stern of the boat, with five lines of a poem in Greek text inscribed below, reading: 'Many forms of death and ends of life are ordained for unhappy mortals. I was Hermes, the son of Hermes and the worthy Isidora; nurtured and brought up in this island until the age of twenty, when I die and swiftly leave the sweet light', 62.5cm high, 45.2cm wide
Hellenistic Period, circa 2nd-1st Century B.C.
In the form of a naiskos, the pediment with central roundel and acroteria at the corners, with a scene carved in high relief within a rectangular recess, flanked by columns, depicting a boat on a wavy sea with four occupants, the central standing draped male figure assisting a seated male with a rudder (?), another male wearing a short tunic and standing at the prow holding the mast and unfurling the sail, the fourth male seated and holding a long oar at the stern of the boat, with five lines of a poem in Greek text inscribed below, reading: 'Many forms of death and ends of life are ordained for unhappy mortals. I was Hermes, the son of Hermes and the worthy Isidora; nurtured and brought up in this island until the age of twenty, when I die and swiftly leave the sweet light', 62.5cm high, 45.2cm wide
Footnotes
Provenance:
Private collection, UK, acquired in the 1970s.
Anonymous sale; Bonhams, London, 23 October 2013, lot 228.
Private collection, UK, acquired from the above sale.