Roman Bronze Statue Arm. 2nd century A.D. A bronze fragment of left arm from a life-size statue of a youthful figure, comprising the left hand with two slightly folded surviving fingers and straight thumb, and majority of the forearm and wrist; detailing to the nails. Cf. Russell, M., ‘Farewell two arms: a Roman bronze body part from Halnaker, West Sussex’ in Sussex Archaeological collections, 157, 2019, pp.125-132, for similar fragment. 840 grams, 35.5 cm (14 in.) Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. For Greeks and Romans, bronze was the preferred material for dedicatory sculpture. Bronze was used to create figures in elaborate poses due to its high tensile strength. Life-sized statues were usually fashioned using the lost-wax casting technique, with multiple sections soldered together to create a single artwork. The position of the finger in our bronze seems to indicate the presence of a staff or spear passing through the two holes formed by the thumb and the little finger. It is possible that the arm came from a statue of a young emperor, or from the statue of armed goddess Pallas Athena, holding a spear. [No Reserve] [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]

Fine condition, fragmentary but with no signs of restoration.