Lot 72D
Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A mold-made sculpture of a foot, not a section from a larger sculpture but rather intentionally depicting a right foot. This piece is a veristic representation of the foot - its arch, muscles, and toes (including the small and purposefully malformed toe) skillfully rendered. While it may seem odd to depict a disfigured pinky toe, this foot was admired as an idealized form of a foot created in Greek sculpture (also called the Royal Toe or the Morton's Triad) and was copied by Roman sculptors. Size: 3.9" L x 2.25" H (9.9 cm x 5.7 cm).
The Romans, in the same vein as other ancient Mediterranean cultures, had a long-standing tradition of offering terracotta representations of everyday objects, animals, human figures like babies, and body parts at sanctuaries. After heads, the most frequently offered anatomical votives were the hands and the feet, which were often injured by people in physically-active careers such as soldiers or farmers - indeed, many examples of feet (although not this one) show signs of bunions or calluses. Naturally, local artisans created an industry to make and sell these votive offerings, producing pottery and bronze models for supplicants.
Provenance: private Davis collection, Houston, Texas, USA; ex-Bonham's London Antiquities Auction, 8 May, 2013, lot 6; ex-private English collection of an academic, acquired between 1950 to 1975
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#132999
- Condition: Age-commensurate surface wear, with small nicks to ankle, toes, and base, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits throughout.
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| $0 | $299 | $25 |
| $300 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
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| $100,000 | $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 + | $25,000 |