Lot 32
  • 32

A Marble Group of the God Pan with a Nymph , Roman Imperial, circa 1st Century A.D.

Estimate
50,000 - 80,000 USD
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Description

  • A Marble Group of the God Pan with a Nymph
  • Height 14 1/2 in. 36.8 cm.
seated over a mantle on a rocky outcrop, the god with his head turned towards the nymph and his left arm around her shoulders, his face with parted lips, snub nose, and eyes with incised irises and recessed pupils, her centrally parted wavy hair bound in a daidem and gathered in a top-knot and braid in back.

Provenance

European art market, prior to 1947
Collection de Monsieur et Madame C. (Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, April 15th, 1994, no. 58, cover illus.)

Literature

G. Lippold, ed., Photographische Einzelaufnahmen Antiker Sculpturen, Serie XVIIB, Munich, 1947, p. 34, no. 5003, illus.

Condition

Repaired from several fragments with paint applied somewhat indiscriminately to conceal joins visible on earlier photographs (see online catalogue alternate views for 1994 Paris auction catalogue photo), both heads might be alien or restored, some other extremities are probably restored as well, including perhaps the entire rocky support but definitely the base it is inserted in.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The letters or numerals "VI" are incised on the side of the rocky outcrop.

The composition involving a seated figure of Pan turned to his left towards a nymph or hermaphrodite ultimately derives from the "Pan and Daphnis" group, in which the god teaches a young shepherd how to play the flute (Bieber, op. cit., fig. 628, and J.J. Pollitt, Art in the Hellenistic Age, Cambridge and New York, 1986, fig. 137).

For related groups of Pan with a nymph or Hermaphrodite see G. Kaschnitz von Weinberg, Sculture del Magazzino del Museo Vaticano, Vatican City, 1936-1937, no. 180, pl. XXXVI (N. Marquardt, Pan in der hellenistischen und kaiserzeitlichen Plastik, Bonn, 1995, p. 253f., no. 2, pl. 25.3; LIMC, vol. VIII, p. 932, no. 186; A. Stähli, Die Verweigerung der Lüste: erotische Gruppen in der antiken Plastik, Berlin, 1999, p. 393f., no. 13, figs. 107-108, and 111), and Sotheby's, New York, December 7th, 2005, no. 51.