A RARE MARBLE RELIEF OF A ROMAN TOGATUS WITH HIS WIFE IN DEXTRARUM IUNCTIO, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY AD
A RARE MARBLE RELIEF OF A ROMAN TOGATUS WITH HIS WIFE IN DEXTRARUM IUNCTIO, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY AD
Published: J. Pollini, 'Roman Marble Sculpture', in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Mougins, 2011, p. 110, fig. 78.
Exhibited:
On loan to the University of Melbourne, Australia, March 1988 - July 2003.
Then at the Museum of Mediterranean Antiquities, Monash University, November 2005 - April 2008.
Musée d' Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art), June 2011-August 2023, inventory number MMOCA.45.
Expert's note
The present relief belongs to the long-established iconographic tradition of the funerary banquet, in which the deceased is represented reclining upon a kline, often accompanied by his seated wife. Originating in Greek funerary and votive imagery, the type remained an important element of Roman commemorative art, where it conveyed not only remembrance of the deceased but also family, social status, and civic identity.
Particularly significant here is the intimate connection between husband and wife, emphasized by their clasped right hands. This gesture, known as dexiosis and, in a specifically Roman marital context, as dextrarum iunctio, was a well-established visual expression of marital union. Rather than necessarily recording a literal moment of farewell, it proclaimed affection, concord, and the enduring bond between husband and wife.
The man is unmistakably dressed in a toga, the quintessential garment of the male Roman citizen and an important visual marker of civic status. Its deliberate inclusion in this representation therefore carried significance beyond dress: the man is presented simultaneously as husband and Roman citizen. His wife, seated beside him and enveloped in her mantle, correspondingly assumes the dignified role of the Roman matron. The combination of the funerary banquet, the toga, and the dextrarum iunctio thus presents the couple through the complementary ideals of marriage, family, and Roman civic identity.
While its surviving fragmentary state does not permit its original architectural setting to be reconstructed with certainty, such reliefs were typically placed at the center of larger funerary marble monuments rather than serving merely as sarcophagus decoration.
Finely carved in high relief with a reclining man and a seated woman in an intimate domestic setting. The man reclines on an elaborate kline, resting on his left elbow, his body enveloped in deeply folded drapery, and holds a shallow phiale in his left hand. At the foot of the couch sits a woman, elegantly dressed in a himation, her wavy hair gathered into a voluminous chignon secured by a ribbon. The two figures turn toward one another and clasp hands at the center of the composition, creating a remarkably direct connection. Behind them rises a stylized palm tree, while the carefully articulated couch, with its shaped sides and turned supports, provides an architectural framework for the scene.
Provenance: The collection Graham Geddes, Melbourne, Australia, acquired in 1982. Bonhams London, 15 October 2008, lot 59, sold for GBP 14,400 or approx. EUR 28,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing. The private collection of Christian Levett, France, and from thereon permanently exhibited in the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, the Museum of Classical Art in Mougins, France. Graham Geddes is a prominent Melbourne-based antiques dealer, collector, and connoisseur who has been active in the trade for more than fifty years. Through Graham Geddes Antiques in Armadale, he dealt in a broad range of material, including Classical antiquities, European furniture and works of art, Asian art, architectural antiques, sculpture, carpets, and tapestries. Geddes acquired extensively through the London market, particularly Sotheby's during the 1980s, and lent numerous works from his collection to Australian institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria, the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Monash University, and the University of Queensland. Parts of the collection were dispersed through major international auction houses, including Christie's in October 1996, Christie's New York in the sale A Melbourne Collector on 18 December 1997, and Bonhams London in the dedicated sale The Geddes Collection on 15 October 2008. Christian Levett (b. 1970) is a British commodities trader-turned-collector whose passion for collecting began in childhood. After building early collections of medals, art, and natural history books, he turned to antiquities in the early 2000s, quickly establishing himself as one of the most active private collectors in the field. In 2011, he founded the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art) in southern France, where antiquities are exhibited in dialogue with works by modern and contemporary artists influenced by the classical tradition. Since retiring from commodities in 2016, Levett has devoted himself full-time to art and philanthropy, sponsoring academic scholarships and supporting archaeological excavations, including at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, commensurate with age. Obvious losses, scattered nicks and scratches, expected weathering, signs of erosion, and encrustations. Overall with a naturally developed cream-tone patina.
French Export Licenses: Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel, nr. 257996, dated 28 November 2025, has been granted. A copy of the document accompanies the lot.
Weight: 19.2 kg
Dimensions: Length 48 cm
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely Roman marble sepulchral relief depicting two figures clasping their right hands in dextrarum iunctio, dated to the 1st century BC (Augustan?), 56.25 cm wide, in the British Museum, registration number 1973,0109.1. Compare a closely related Roman marble sarcophagus fragment depicting a marriage scene with bride and groom in dextrarum iunctio, dated to the 2nd century AD, 87 cm wide, in the British Museum, registration number 1805,0703.143. Compare a closely related Roman marble sarcophagus fragment depicting a married couple clasping hands, dated to the early 3rd century AD, 40 cm wide, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 18.145.52.
A RARE MARBLE RELIEF OF A ROMAN TOGATUS WITH HIS WIFE IN DEXTRARUM IUNCTIO, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY AD
Published: J. Pollini, 'Roman Marble Sculpture', in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Mougins, 2011, p. 110, fig. 78.
Exhibited:
On loan to the University of Melbourne, Australia, March 1988 - July 2003.
Then at the Museum of Mediterranean Antiquities, Monash University, November 2005 - April 2008.
Musée d' Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art), June 2011-August 2023, inventory number MMOCA.45.
Expert's note
The present relief belongs to the long-established iconographic tradition of the funerary banquet, in which the deceased is represented reclining upon a kline, often accompanied by his seated wife. Originating in Greek funerary and votive imagery, the type remained an important element of Roman commemorative art, where it conveyed not only remembrance of the deceased but also family, social status, and civic identity.
Particularly significant here is the intimate connection between husband and wife, emphasized by their clasped right hands. This gesture, known as dexiosis and, in a specifically Roman marital context, as dextrarum iunctio, was a well-established visual expression of marital union. Rather than necessarily recording a literal moment of farewell, it proclaimed affection, concord, and the enduring bond between husband and wife.
The man is unmistakably dressed in a toga, the quintessential garment of the male Roman citizen and an important visual marker of civic status. Its deliberate inclusion in this representation therefore carried significance beyond dress: the man is presented simultaneously as husband and Roman citizen. His wife, seated beside him and enveloped in her mantle, correspondingly assumes the dignified role of the Roman matron. The combination of the funerary banquet, the toga, and the dextrarum iunctio thus presents the couple through the complementary ideals of marriage, family, and Roman civic identity.
While its surviving fragmentary state does not permit its original architectural setting to be reconstructed with certainty, such reliefs were typically placed at the center of larger funerary marble monuments rather than serving merely as sarcophagus decoration.
Finely carved in high relief with a reclining man and a seated woman in an intimate domestic setting. The man reclines on an elaborate kline, resting on his left elbow, his body enveloped in deeply folded drapery, and holds a shallow phiale in his left hand. At the foot of the couch sits a woman, elegantly dressed in a himation, her wavy hair gathered into a voluminous chignon secured by a ribbon. The two figures turn toward one another and clasp hands at the center of the composition, creating a remarkably direct connection. Behind them rises a stylized palm tree, while the carefully articulated couch, with its shaped sides and turned supports, provides an architectural framework for the scene.
Provenance: The collection Graham Geddes, Melbourne, Australia, acquired in 1982. Bonhams London, 15 October 2008, lot 59, sold for GBP 14,400 or approx. EUR 28,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing. The private collection of Christian Levett, France, and from thereon permanently exhibited in the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, the Museum of Classical Art in Mougins, France. Graham Geddes is a prominent Melbourne-based antiques dealer, collector, and connoisseur who has been active in the trade for more than fifty years. Through Graham Geddes Antiques in Armadale, he dealt in a broad range of material, including Classical antiquities, European furniture and works of art, Asian art, architectural antiques, sculpture, carpets, and tapestries. Geddes acquired extensively through the London market, particularly Sotheby's during the 1980s, and lent numerous works from his collection to Australian institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria, the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Monash University, and the University of Queensland. Parts of the collection were dispersed through major international auction houses, including Christie's in October 1996, Christie's New York in the sale A Melbourne Collector on 18 December 1997, and Bonhams London in the dedicated sale The Geddes Collection on 15 October 2008. Christian Levett (b. 1970) is a British commodities trader-turned-collector whose passion for collecting began in childhood. After building early collections of medals, art, and natural history books, he turned to antiquities in the early 2000s, quickly establishing himself as one of the most active private collectors in the field. In 2011, he founded the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art) in southern France, where antiquities are exhibited in dialogue with works by modern and contemporary artists influenced by the classical tradition. Since retiring from commodities in 2016, Levett has devoted himself full-time to art and philanthropy, sponsoring academic scholarships and supporting archaeological excavations, including at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, commensurate with age. Obvious losses, scattered nicks and scratches, expected weathering, signs of erosion, and encrustations. Overall with a naturally developed cream-tone patina.
French Export Licenses: Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel, nr. 257996, dated 28 November 2025, has been granted. A copy of the document accompanies the lot.
Weight: 19.2 kg
Dimensions: Length 48 cm
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely Roman marble sepulchral relief depicting two figures clasping their right hands in dextrarum iunctio, dated to the 1st century BC (Augustan?), 56.25 cm wide, in the British Museum, registration number 1973,0109.1. Compare a closely related Roman marble sarcophagus fragment depicting a marriage scene with bride and groom in dextrarum iunctio, dated to the 2nd century AD, 87 cm wide, in the British Museum, registration number 1805,0703.143. Compare a closely related Roman marble sarcophagus fragment depicting a married couple clasping hands, dated to the early 3rd century AD, 40 cm wide, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 18.145.52.
