A Roman mosaic panel. Circa 2nd-3rd Century A.D.

A Roman mosaic panel. Circa 2nd-3rd Century A.D.

Composed of pink, russet, yellow, ochre, green, pale blue, grey, white and black tesserae, depicting a Nereid or Venus seated on the back of a bearded triton, naked with her drapery over her right leg and beneath her, holding a swag of drapery billowing behind, wearing a necklace, armlets and anklets, the triton holding her drapery in his upraised left hand, his lower chest in the form of a horse with raised forelegs and a dolphin swimming beneath, his lower body a scrolling fish tail, another youthful triton on the left, both with short pincered horns, with waves in the field and an undulating graded border, 63 x 60¼in (160 x 153cm), some restorations, mounted in a grout frame. Estimate: £30,000 - 50,000

Provenance: Property of a private French collector, acquired in 1985.

Literature: For a similar example with marine subject matter cf. Mosaïque, Receuil d'Hommages à Henri Stern (Paris 1983), pl.XCVII.

Bonhams. Antiquities, 29 Apr 2009. New Bond Street www.bonhams.com (Copyright © 2002-2009 Bonhams 1793 Ltd., Images and Text All Rights Reserved)