ROMAN MOSAIC FRAGMENT DEPICTING LEANDER AND HERO
LOWER EGYPT, C. 2ND CENTURY A.D.
Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000
Auction: 13 March 2025 from 13:00 GMT
Description
stone/marble tesserae, depicting the hero Leander swimming across the Hellespont to meet with his lover Hero, who is shown standing in a tower holding a burning torch
Dimensions
58 x 96cm
Provenance
Private collection, France, acquired on the Spanish art market in 1972, thence by descent
French art market, 2018
Bonhams, London, 23 July 2020, lot 65 (part)
Peter Petrou, London
Sotheby's, London, Worlds within Worlds | Works from the Collection of Peter Petrou, 21st September 2021, lot 168
Private collection, London, United Kingdom, acquired at the above
Footnote
The myth of Leander and Hero tells the tragic story of a young man, Leander, who swam across the Hellespont each night to be with Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite in Sestos. Hero would light a torch from her tower to guide him across the dangerous waters. Eventually, Leander drowns during a storm, and in her despair, Hero takes her own life by throwing herself into the sea. The myth explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the fatal consequences of passion.