Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art

Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 150. A Fragmentary Roman Marble Torso of the Hanging Marsyas, circa 1st/2nd Century A.D..

Property from a Belgian Private Collection

A Fragmentary Roman Marble Torso of the Hanging Marsyas, circa 1st/2nd Century A.D.

VAT reduced rate

Lot Closed

July 6, 12:53 PM GMT

Estimate

4,000 - 6,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from a Belgian Private Collection

A Fragmentary Roman Marble Torso of the Hanging Marsyas

circa 1st/2nd Century A.D.


with a satyr's tail on the small of the back and remains of a strut on the outside of each buttock; no restorations.

Height 20 cm.

Jean-Philippe Mariaud de Serres, Paris, by descent from his father
acquired by the present owner from Galerie Serres, Paris, in 2002

The distended, bulging muscles in the inner thigh area suggest that the complete figure represented the satyr Marsyas hanging from a tree with his hands tied above his head. The two struts, one on each buttock, were probably attached to the tree-trunk. See http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/objekt/16463 for a monumental example of this composition.