Our discoveries concerning the ancient period with busts and heads sculpted in stone and marble, relief and statuary, ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Ptolemaic, Roman and Celtic art.
Important bas-relief celtic art. Northern Gaul or Belgium.
Large bas-relief carved in stone representing a rider equipped with an imposing oval shield. The rider wears a horned helmet with conical horns, worn low on the forehead, and equipped with a neck protector. The horse, faithful to the aesthetic canons of the Iron Age in Gaul, is distinguished by a chest with curvilinear contours and a stylized head. The shield, covering the entire body, is decorated with prominent rivets around its edge and a richly decorated umbo. The latter presents a double artistic interpretation, characteristic of the Iron Age, La Tène culture: a stylized face occupying the entire surface and a character with raised arms, with details engraved at the level of the face.
Early Christian Liturgical Basin. White marble.
Exceptional liturgical basin or early Christian holy water font in white marble, late roman art. It represents a character, probably Christ, with his palm open in the attitude of blessing according to the first Christian representations. Simply dressed in a long perizonium, he wears a stole, no doubt a liturgical symbol. The face, round and bearded, with almond eyes shows Visigothic influences.
The identification of the figure with Christ is supported by his attitude, known elsewhere in the representations of the catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, of Saint Calixtus or that of the Good Shepherd in the catacombs of Priscilla. The palm offered, hand lowered is an attitude noted on the first representations of Christ, which is appropriate in a liturgical basin. This attitude differs markedly from the attitudes of praying people or saints, hands raised.
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Queen marble head. Greek Art Alexandria. Queen Arsinoe II Hellenistic period
Marble head, portrait of the queen Arsinoe II as Aphrodite. The hair is incomplete because it was made in stucco following the Alexandrian custom, due to the rarity of Greek marble in the capital of Hellenistic Egypt. Ptolemaic period. Arsinoe II was deified in the guise of Aphrodite after her death in 270 BC
Important Celtiberian Horse. Spain.
Large sculpture representing a stylized horse. Celtic period, northern Spain, circa 5th-4th century BC. This sculpture is probably a firedog, also known in Gaul with protomes of rams or horses. Highly stylized, it is very aesthetic and graceful, with the evocation of the neckline, ears and eyes. It is carved in dark andesite.
Marble bronze age idol. Anatolia.
Anatolia, Early Bronze Age, ca. 3000 to 2500 BCE. An anthropomorphic marble idol with a rectangular body and a slightly flared base. The features remain very visible, the round head has a shematic nose and deep-set, round eyes. The shoulders are sloping and the hands meet at the waist.
Punic stele. Carthage 3rd century. BC
Stele with a triangular pediment in marble stone representing a person praying with his right hand raised in a gesture of adoration standing in a naos. This gesture characterizes the worship of the goddess Tanit. The material used allows us to attribute this stele to Carthage and not to Utica. This Punic stele shows traces of polychromy.
Celtic bas-relief. Iron Age period.
Important bas-relief representing 3 characters, block recut and probably used in re-use in a Merovingian or pre-Romanesque building. The character on the right is thus a precursor of the Sheela Na Gig and the bifide sirens of the Romanesque period. Her arms and legs meet, and a vulva is visible in the crotch, evoking a fertility cult.
Ancient Greek marble head. Hellenistic period. Arsinoe III Philopator
Female head in marble, diademed and with hair tied back. Representation of the Lagide queen Arsinoe III. Ptolemaic period. Hairstyle characteristic of the period.
Celtic stone head. Exceptional origin.
Stone head from Alise Sainte-Reine. Excavations ordered by Napoleon III from 1861 to 1865 on the site of Alésia. Style and portrait to be compared to the coins issued by Vercingétorix. Provenance Collection Dierckx Bruxelles.
Stone head. Celtic Art.
Important hieratic head from Great Britain. Celtic island art. Yorkshire find circa 1950, prev. Bergé auction.
Cypriot head of a male votary. Archaic Cyprus. Beardless male wearing a conical helmet.
Head of an individual in beige limestone wearing a conical helmet, almond-shaped eyes sculpted in relief, arched eyebrows and well-marked ears. Former collection of Gustave Soulier (1872-1937), art historian, Doctor of Letters, director of the French Institute of Naples, Italy.
Head of Apollo. Gallo-Roman art. Important bust of Apollo with hair tied back.
Portrait of the Roman god Apollo, over life size, stylized curly hair, pulled back and falling to the back of the neck. Eyes slightly almond-shaped, ears pelta.
Greek art Gorgoneion Plaque Magna Graecia
A funeral decoration or deposit, this molded terracotta plaque presents a Gorgon, with snakes in her hair and sharp teeth. Very good origin: old Altounian collection before 1940 (annex label 587).
Roman votive plaque. Horseman between two columns.
Rectangular plaque decorated in relief with a horseman between two columns surmounted by capitals. These so-called Campana reliefs are widespread in Etruscan and Roman art.
Gallo-Roman horse head. Monumental equestrian statue
Important Gallo-Roman horse head from a monumental ensemble. Hard ivory colored limestone. Discovered at the end of the 19th century near Dijon. Former Claer de Mulhouse collection. An export certificate has been obtained from the French Ministry of Culture.
Head of a bearded man. Early Christian art.
Head of a bearded man, carved in a volcanic rock. High Middle Ages or late antiquity, apostle, maybe a representation of St-Peter.
For the ancient period, the Ekinium gallery is dedicated to discover European and Mediterranean artworks. The gallery focuses on Greek and Roman, Etruscan, Hellenistic, Cypriot civilizations as well as on Celtic sculpture. We are mainly looking towards figurative sculptures: heads and portraits in marble or limestone, relief in marble or stone as well as figurines in terracotta. The subjects are varied: portraits of Ptolemaic queens of Hellenistic tradition, heads and sculptures representing Greco-Roman divinities or votives figure, such as Cypriot limestone carvings.