White marble
1st–2nd century AD
2 1/2" x 4 1/4" x 8 1/2"
Provenance: London trade
This marble fragment depicts a hand supporting a shallow phiale, or libation bowl, with the fingers extended beneath the vessel and the wrist articulated with close attention to anatomy. The phiale is rendered with a pronounced central omphalos, its smooth bowl surface contrasting with the modeled knuckles and finger joints of the hand. The fragment would originally have formed part of a larger figural statue, most likely representing a deity, priest, or personification in the act of offering.
The phiale was the principal vessel used for pouring liquid offerings to the gods in Roman religious practice, and its depiction in monumental sculpture carried specific ritual meaning. Marble statuary fragments of this type entered the European trade in significant numbers from the eighteenth century onward, and the London provenance places this example within that well-established collecting tradition. The piece displays effectively on its modern mount, the angled presentation emphasizing the relationship between hand and vessel.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
White marble
1st–2nd century AD
2 1/2" x 4 1/4" x 8 1/2"
Provenance: London trade
This marble fragment depicts a hand supporting a shallow phiale, or libation bowl, with the fingers extended beneath the vessel and the wrist articulated with close attention to anatomy. The phiale is rendered with a pronounced central omphalos, its smooth bowl surface contrasting with the modeled knuckles and finger joints of the hand. The fragment would originally have formed part of a larger figural statue, most likely representing a deity, priest, or personification in the act of offering.
The phiale was the principal vessel used for pouring liquid offerings to the gods in Roman religious practice, and its depiction in monumental sculpture carried specific ritual meaning. Marble statuary fragments of this type entered the European trade in significant numbers from the eighteenth century onward, and the London provenance places this example within that well-established collecting tradition. The piece displays effectively on its modern mount, the angled presentation emphasizing the relationship between hand and vessel.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
