Furniture, Works of Art, Arms and Armour - 25th March 2015
Lot 392
A classical carved marble portrait bust of a boy
Estimate £500 - £800 | Hammer £4600
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Description
A classical carved marble portrait bust of a boy, with almond eyes and thick curling hair, possibly Roman 2nd / 3rd century A.D. or later, 21.3cm high, 16cm wide, 16.5cm deep.
Provenance: By family repute this bust was discovered by German soldiers digging trenches when establishing a new line of defence in Romania in 1944. It was excavated near Cilibiu along with a torso and arms and a quantity of French gold coins minted for Napoleon. It is thought that these coins were left in Romania by Napoleon's army on its way to Russia. The bust was bought from the German soldiers for food by the previous vendor's grandfather who was a priest.