Roman Bronze Dolphin Furniture Leg / Attachment

**First Time At Auction**

Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A charming cast bronze dolphin attachment with finely delineated eyes, fins, dorsal fin, and tail, and mouth pressed against a seashell. The piece is flat at either end and has a partial perforation at the tail end where it would have been attached to a chest or vessel. Dolphins were a powerful and popular motif in Roman artwork. The Romans were in part a maritime empire, and the iconography of the sea included dolphins, believed to carry souls to the Fortunate Isles, perhaps because they could pass through the air-breathing terrestrial world and into the watery depths that claimed so many Roman sailors' lives. Size: 2.75" W x 1.125" H (7 cm x 2.9 cm)

Provenance: ex Estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA acquired before 2000

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#158380
Condition Report: Normal surface wear commensurate with age; however, both the dolphin and the seashell still retain wonderful forms and details. There is an old minute loss to lower left proper periphery of tail terminal that has smoothed over time.