London – The 5th century BC Greek writer Herodotus (484-425 BC) may enjoy a reputation as the 'father of history', but it is the Athenian historian and soldier Thucydides (460-404/0 BC) who was the first to record events as they happened, and to view them from the dispassionate standpoint of political pragmatism. His History of the Peloponnesian War is still widely studied for its insights into international relations and how societies respond to great challenges, such as war and plague. A magnificent 2nd century AD Roman bust of Thucydides leads Bonhams Antiquities sale in London on Tuesday 7 December. It has an estimate of £80,000-120,000.

Although Thucydides occupied a powerful position as a military magistrate, he played little active part in the long struggle between Athens and Sparta, known as the Peloponnesian War, which erupted in 431 BC. In 424 BC he was exiled for his perceived failure to prevent the strategic Thracian city of Amphipolis falling into the hands of the Spartans. He then devoted his time to researching and recording the causes and the progress of the conflict.

Francesca Hickin, Bonhams Head of Antiquities, said: "Thucydides was widely admired during his lifetime and his tomb in Athens was still being visited right up until the 2nd century AD. We can date this striking Roman bust – almost certainly based on a Greek original depicting the historian aged about 50 – to around 150-175 AD. Thucydides is said to have been a serious man in keeping with his great work and this powerful bust undoubtedly suggests a person of substance and character."

The sale also features Part II of an American collection of Ancient Glass. Part I of the collection was offered by Bonhams in July this year and made £190,000 with 90% sold.

Highlights of Part II include:

• A Roman pale grey-green glass animal-headed rhyton, circa 1st Century A.D. Rhyta, which were used as drinking horns or for libation, are rarely found made from glass. This rhyton has no base meaning that the contents had to be drunk in one go as shown in a fresco in Pompeii where a banqueteer has raised the rhyton high above his head and is pouring wine in a stream into his mouth, It is possible that the head of this rhyton could represent a snail, since they were considered by the Romans to be an elite delicacy. Estimate: £12,000-18,000.

• A Roman yellowish-green glass 'lotus bud' beaker from around the late 1st Century A.D. Although the bosses on these beakers are likened to lotus buds or almonds, it seems most likely that they are intended to represent the gnarled wood knots of Hercules' club, which was said to have been the trunk of an olive tree. Hercules was renowned for his prowess in drinking and was even depicted in mosaics from Antioch having wine drinking contests with the god of wine himself, Dionysus. Estimate: £6,000-8,000.

Additionally, there is a select collection of Anatolian Idols published in the 1960s as part of the Gimpel Fils collection, including a large Anatolian marble idol estimated at £8,000-12,000.

30 November 2021