188 - 'The Earl of Vincent's' Marble Capital from the Provincia Phoenicia. Circa 2nd century A.D. White marble capital of Ionic order, with slightly curved abacus, supporting the visible traces of the epistyle, and shallow volutes; in the lower part, between the volutes, the foliate base showing an egg-and-dart decoration on the cymation, supported by two further concentric ornamented strips (astragals), again decorated by shallow egg-shaped forms; three of the four volutes preserved, one of them with three holes for the fixing of the metal fastening staples; over the reversed part of the abacus, a bronze plate with an inscription: 'A white marble capital from the top of a Phoenician Column brought in England in 1733 by Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis 1st Earl of St.Vincent GCB, PC. The Phoenicians were a very early trading nation. Origins 2300-1200 BC. High point 1200-800 BC.' Cf. similar capitals from Phoenicia and Levant in Mendel, G., Catalogue des sculptures grecques, romaines et byzantines, Constantinople, 1914, nos.1197-1198, vol.III, pp.438-439; Skeels, F. and Skeels L., A comprehensive guide, Highways and byways of Lebanon, Beirut, 2000, pp.205 (ionic capitals of the Roman temple of Hardine), 238 (ionic capitals of the Roman temple at Bziza). approximately 400+ kg, 70 cm wide (27 1/2 in.). [No Reserve]

'The Earl of Vincent's' Marble Capital from the Provincia Phoenicia. Circa 2nd century A.D. White marble capital of Ionic order, with slightly curved abacus, supporting the visible traces of the epistyle, and shallow volutes; in the lower part, between the volutes, the foliate base showing an egg-and-dart decoration on the cymation, supported by two further concentric ornamented strips (astragals), again decorated by shallow egg-shaped forms; three of the four volutes preserved, one of them with three holes for the fixing of the metal fastening staples; over the reversed part of the abacus, a bronze plate with an inscription: 'A white marble capital from the top of a Phoenician Column brought in England in 1733 by Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis 1st Earl of St.Vincent GCB, PC. The Phoenicians were a very early trading nation. Origins 2300-1200 BC. High point 1200-800 BC.' Cf. similar capitals from Phoenicia and Levant in Mendel, G., Catalogue des sculptures grecques, romaines et byzantines, Constantinople, 1914, nos.1197-1198, vol.III, pp.438-439; Skeels, F. and Skeels L., A comprehensive guide, Highways and byways of Lebanon, Beirut, 2000, pp.205 (ionic capitals of the Roman temple of Hardine), 238 (ionic capitals of the Roman temple at Bziza). approximately 400+ kg, 70 cm wide (27 1/2 in.). [No Reserve] Brought to England in 1788 by Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, GCB, PC. From the private collection of Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, Rochetts, South Weald, Essex, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13411-259626. The features of this capital are consistent with a particular type of Ionic style, which seems to have characterised the temples of Roman Phoenicia under Hadrian; the capital decoration is very similar to the capitals of the temple of Mercury, Hardine, and to the Roman temple at Bziza. TimeLine Auctions follows a rigorous vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists. See our website for more information.