Lot 52
  • 52

A Roman Marble Figure of a Child and his Pet Duck, circa 2nd Century A.D.

Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
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Description

  • A Roman Marble Figure of a Child and his Pet Duck
  • MARBLE
  • Height 37 cm.
seated on the ground, his right arm raised and left hand resting upon a duck; former restorations removed.

Provenance

the sculptor Joseph von Kopf (1827-1903), Rome
Christie’s, London, July 10th, 1987, no. 235, illus.
Elsa Bloch-Diener (1922-2012), Bern, acquired at the above sale (Christie’s, London, July 5th, 2017, no. 73, illus.)

Literature

Rudolf Herzog, "Das Kind mit der Fuchsgans," Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien, vol. 6, 1903, p. 230, no. 9
Ludwig Pollak, Joseph v. Kopf als Sammler. Beschreibung der von ihm hinterlassenen Sammlung, Rome, 1905, p. 4, no. 8, pl. 3
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, vol. 4, Paris, 1910, p. 285, no. 4
Georg Lippold, Die Skulpturen des Vaticanischen Museums, vol. III.2, Berlin, 1956, p. 361

Catalogue Note

An almost complete copy of this hellenistic type, which is known in several replicas, was found in Ephesos: M. Aurenhammer, Die Skulpturen von Ephesos, Forschungen in Ephesos, vol. X.1, 1990, pp. 149ff., no. 132, pl. 91. For a rebuttal of the common identification of the original with a statue described by the Greek poet Herondas see C. Kunze, Zum Greifen nah, 2002, p. 147f., note 819.

The present lot was photographed on the Rome art market by Vatican photographer Romualdo Moscioni (1849-1925) with the caption "Torzi di scavo" and the inventory number 12302: http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/marbilderbestand/833554.