A crescentic gold lunula pendant with granule clusters to the terminals and body, granulated suspension loop. 1.78 grams, 28 mm

Acquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.

A sheet-bronze votive plaque fragment displaying repoussé ornament, likely the god Asclepius holding his snake-entwined staff beneath a columned arch, additional snakes raising their heads and necks beside and above him, other enigmatic symbols in the field. 2.67 grams, 52 mm

Acquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.

Cf. similar style plaque in the British Museum, an embossed plaque of Athena, inventory number 2003.0901.23.

Aesculapius, god of medicine, the Greek Asclepius, son of Apollo and a mortal, Coronis, is often accompanied by a snake, a symbol of wisdom and healing power. Aesculapius-Asclepius is also often represented with the staff having a snake wrapped around it.

A bronze ring with D-section hoop, lentoid bezel engraved with a running hare. 1.48 grams, 20.32 mm overall, 17.70 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K 1/2, USA 5 1/2, Europe 10.58, Japan 10)

Acquired in the 1970s.
Important European collection.

Cf. Henkel, F., Die Römischen Fingerringe der Rheinlande und der Benachbarten Gebiete, Berlin, 1913, items 61-62, for type.

The libidinous hare was sacred to Aphrodite and Eros (Venus and Cupid), and live hares were often presented as love gifts.

A bronze finger ring with inset carnelian gemstone, intaglio scorpion. 4.31 grams, 21.20 mm overall, 17.45 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J, USA 4 3/4, Europe 8.69, Japan 8)

Acquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.

The ring could have belonged to a praetorian guardsman. The scorpion was one of the main symbols of the praetorian guard since the age of Augustus.

A bronze oyster fork comprising a tapering balustered handle, hoop and two long tines. 6 grams, 10.4 cm

Acquired early 2000s.
Property of a Birmingham, UK, collector.
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.

A shallow mottled 'red' and 'white' marble dish, possibly porphyry marble, with gently sloping gusseted sidewall. 134 grams, 65 mm wide

French collection, 1960s-early 2000s.
From an important Paris gallery, France.

A pair of bone dice with dot-in-ring numbering, both composed: 1:6, 2:5, 3:4. 4.28 grams total, 10 mm each

English collection formed in the 1990s.
UK art market.
Property of an Essex gentleman.

A redware ceramic fragment with moulded low-relief decoration of a victorious Auriga (chariot-driver) standing in his chariot with four rearing horses yoked to it; geometric detail to his tunic, a frond in his bent left arm and a whip in his raised right hand; incised bilinear lettering '-TA' to the left and 'PV- / TO[V?]-' to the right in Greek letters; modern mounting loop to the reverse. 74 grams, 90 mm

Acquired 1960s-1990s.
From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.

See Mordtmann, A., 'Das Denkmal des Porphyrius', in Mittheilungen des deutschen archäologischen Institutes, in Athen, vol. V, Athens, 1880, pp.295-308, for a detailed representation of the costume of the Auriga and the position of the victorious chariot driver; Vasiliev, A.A., 'The monument of Porphyrius in the hippodrome at Constantinople' in Dumbarton Oaks Papers Vol. 4, (1948), pp.27-49; for the style of pottery cf. Banck, A., Byzantine Art in the collections of the USSR, Leningrad-Moscow, 1966, fig.23, for a very similar pottery style.

The pottery fragment shows an image of a charioteer in the moment of victory, with his left hand carrying a palm branch. The iconography is visible in the monument of Porphyrios in Constantinople and the charioteers of the Baccano mosaics. The detailed representation of the Auriga shows the attributes of his work: he wears a close-fitting undershirt with sleeves (γυμναστικiον) and an ornamented sleeveless tunic over it, leaving the knees exposed as is typical for charioteers (αυριγαριον).

An emerald green glass unguentarium with a slender piriform body and tubular neck with rolled rim; iridescent surfaces. 21.3 grams, 10.1 cm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

A silver annular band decorated with dot-in-ring motifs alternating with diagonal dashes. 6.55 grams, 27.50 mm overall, 24.10 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Z+4, USA 14 1/4, Europe 33.83, Japan 32)

Acquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.

A nicolo gemstone with profile portrait bust, set in a 2nd century A.D. hollow-formed gold ring with granule clusters to the shoulders. 2.55 grams, 23.99 mm overall, 16.55 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)

UK private collection, since 1956.
Formed in the 1950s by by Mr and Mrs S. Broukal, thence by decent.
with Bonham's, London, New Bond Street, 30 November 2016, lot 155 [Part].
English private collection.

Cf. Ruseva-Slokoska, L., Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item 219 (ring).

A pear-shaped pale green glass flask with broad flared neck, applied trails to the neck and broader, undulating trails to the equator embellished with raised ledges; areas of iridescence; old French collection label to base dated c.1900 A.D. 59 grams, 12 cm high

French collection, 1960s-early 2000s.
From an important Paris gallery, France.