2nd-3rd century AD. A bronze chariot fitting in the form of a satyr bt with the head turned to the left; the thick hair arranged in undulating locks with large ears protruding between the curls and two small horns emerging from the centre of the forehead, expressive facial detailing with large eyes and incised pupils; a panther skin covering the chest and tied over the right shoulder, leaving the left shoulder exposed in the manner of Greek exomis tunic; a rectangular socket in an angle for attachment to the chariot on the reverse; mounted on a ctom-made display stand. See Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971; Ratkovi?, D., 'Wagon and Harness Bronzes from the Roman Collection of the National Meum in Belgrade' in Thiasos, Festschrift fur Erwin Pochmarski zum 65. Geburtstag, Wien, 2008, pp.793-815, figs.3-7-8, for similar items;pare also with decorated chariot fittings in Menzel, H., Die römischen Bronzen a Deutschland III, Mainz am Rhein, 1986, pp.164-177, nos.458-485, especially pls.142-144, for those with the bt of gods; for another possible bt of Bacch or part of his retainers as a chariot decoration see Humer, F., Kremer, G., Pollhammer, E., Pülz A., AD 313 Von Carnuntum zum Christentum, Bad Voslau, 2014, no.84. 1.1 kg, 16.5cm high (1.1 kg total, 22.5cm including stand) (6 1/2 (9)"). UK private collection before 2000. UK art market. Property of a London gentleman. Apanied by an archaeological report by Dr. Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is apanied by AIAD certificate number no.11092-184034. Bronze figurative decorations on funerary wagons are very often of Dionysiac character and related to Dionysiac mysteries. Hitherto it was a standard approach for the scholars to consider the decoration of funeral wagons as exclively associated with the cult of Dionys and vario themes related to this cult, considering that many of the chariot fittings excavated to date were bts of the god himself, Maenads, satyrs, young men with vine-leaf crowns, or animals, like panthers, linked to his cult. One example similar to this sculpture is the bt of a Maenad in the collection of ancient bronzes of Vienne (Boucher, 1971, cat.42) which is most probably a chariot decoration, together with a bt of Dionys in the same collection (Boucher, 1971, cat.43"). [No Reserve] [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions .]