Discoid body and short tubular neck with everted rim, two loop handles. 561 grams, 19.2 cm



Ex London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s. Private collection, London.

Conical in profile, aqua glass with three incised bands below the rim on the inner face. 374 grams, 15.7 cm wide



Dr Jutaro Kawabe, Nagoya, Japan, his collection formed in the 1960s-1970s. with Hoshigaoka Gallery until the late 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12949-245243.

On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence—and desirability—of the piece.

Elongated piriform amphora shape, tubular neck and everted rim, decorated with polychrome festooning and trails, applied amber-green handles and knop foot. 152 grams, 18 cm high



Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12206-222129.

With incuse profile female bust with copious tiered curls and braids, palla to the shoulder; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 3.06 grams, 21 mm



Ex London, UK, gentleman, 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13002-244442.

Julia Domna (170-217 A.D.) was one of the most honoured imperial women in the course of the Principate. Almost 600 inscriptions bear her name; numerous coin types portray her together with the emperors; important artworks where she is depicted (such as the Kassel Cameo, the Arch of the Argentarii and the Severan Arch in Leptis Magna) demonstrate that she occupied no secondary position in the Severan regime. She appears, consequently, to be a key figure of this period.

With intaglio profile bust of a woman facing left; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.49 grams, 11 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK.

With the head of Eros, the god of love, facing; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.76 grams, 9 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK.

With a cameo image of a male antelope jumping right; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.43 grams, 11 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK.

Showing a New Comedy, The Cook Type theatre mask, with an open mouth; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 1.07 grams, 13 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK.

Hollow-formed gold ring with round-section hoop and a tall oval bezel set with a black chalcedony cloison with incised image of a Dioscuros facing left, naked apart from a long fringed cape and a galea (Roman helmet), holding a large shield to his left side and with a horse to his right. 1.82 grams, 23.33 mm overall, 16.98 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K 1/2, USA 6, Europe 16, Japan 11).



From a collection of ancient rings, 1980s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12953-246354.

With granules flanking an ellipsoid cell containing an onyx cameo facing bust of a Nubian with dressed hair executed in the half-round. 7.53 grams, 28.75 mm overall, 20.36 mm internal diameter (approximate size British V, USA 10 1/2, Europe 23.77, Japan 22).



Acquired 1970-1990. Ex property of a deceased lady. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12954-246353.

Comprising a substantial keeled hoop and raised bezel set with a garnet, the garnet with a central lozenge flanked by two transverse lines. 8.36 grams, 25.87 mm overall, 19.48 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)



Private English collection. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12955-245984.

Comprising three rings, the largest ring set with a garnet intaglio with a standing male figure (Odysseus shooting with his bow); the slightly smaller ring set with an emerald; the smallest ring set with a garnet intaglio of an amphora; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 3.82 grams total, 9-13 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12956-245984.