Rare lot of 9 fragments of antique carved marble

A set of nine white marble fragments with an excavated patina, originating from ancient Roman monuments. The set includes one fragment decorated with acanthus leaves (likely from a capital), several cornice fragments, two facing elements, and miscellaneous pieces.

Italy, Ancient Roman Art, 1st-2nd century AD

The fragments are of a good size, ranging from 5 to approximately 20 centimeters in length.

Provenance: The set was collected near the Appian Way in the early 20th century by a family stationed at the Italian Embassy in Rome.
This type of collection is rare on the market. It is reminiscent of the collections of 18th- and 19th-century enthusiasts of archaeological remains, in the tradition of illustrious collectors and antiquarians such as the Count of Caylus, who considered fragments as valuable as the statuary that was once so prized. It is in this spirit that he wrote in his letters in 1758:

“I always ask you to remember that I am not creating a cabinet of curiosities, that vanity is not my aim, I am not concerned with ostentatious pieces, but that scraps of agate, stone, bronze, clay, and glass, which can serve in any way to rediscover a custom or the passage from an author, are the object of my desires. I am not creating a cabinet of curiosities, I am creating a course in antiquity, and I am seeking out customs, what proves them, what practices them, what demonstrates them.”
The diversity of the fragments we present makes this collection not only highly decorative and coherent but also an essential source of information on the marble architecture that once adorned the capital of the Empire.

Ref: 00257VEC2O