Provenance Information

Inherited by a private collector, Wales, from his wife in 1974. Consigned by the private collector to Bonhams, London, October 28, 2004, lot 60. Acquired at the auction by Phoenix Ancient Art, New York. Sold by Phoenix Ancient Art to Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer in 2006. Given by Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2012.

Exhibition Information

The work has been on loan to, and on display at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2007.

Publication Information

The work was published in the auction catalogue for Bonhams, London, October 28, 2004, lot 60 (illustrated).

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The work has provenance reported to 1945. The work was sold at public auction in 2004 and published and illustrated in the auction catalogue. The auction catalogue provided the following provenance information: “Inherited by the present owner on the death of his wife in 1974. Although uncertain as to when and where she acquired it, the vendor recalls his wife owning the sculpture when they first met in London in 1945. It may have been part of the collection left to her by her father, a merchant who traded between Brazil and London – she was born in Rio in 1897. However, it is possible that she had acquired it by her own means, as she had always taken a keen interest and acquired a considerable knowledge of antiquities.” The work has been on loan to, and on display at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2007. The high quality of the carving and the fine state of preservation surpass other Roman decorative reliefs in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.