Comprising a hollow-formed hoop with rounded shoulders, inset garnet intaglio with clasped hands and 'AIAX' inscription. 2.79 grams, 21.00 mm overall, 14.90 mm internal diameter (approximate size British E, USA 2 1/4, Europe 2.41, Japan 2)

Acquired in Europe in 1992.
with Million Cornette de Saint Cyr, Hotel Regina, 12 December 2009.
European private collection.

Cf. Ruseva-Slokoska, L., Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item 189, for type.

The Romanised name 'Aiax' is given to the hero Αἴας of the Trojan war, who carried off the body of Achilles and fought Hector. The subject of two clasped hands (dextrarum junctio) symbolising the fides (loyalty, trust), was very popular on Roman rings and gems. It was mainly used on marriage rings, sometimes with the equivalent Greek inscription 'OMONOIA'. Sometimes it was used in terms of military loyalty between commander and army. In this case it is most probable the name of the groom (AIAX).

With balustered hoop, broad shoulders with scrolled foliage detailing, discoid bezel with cell, inset nicolo gemstone with reversed 'SER/VIV' for SER(VI) VIV(AS) inscription in seriffed capitals, meaning 'Long may you live Servius'. 11.63 grams, 20.37 mm overall, 16.48 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J, USA 4 3/4, Europe 8.69, Japan 8)

UK private collection formed before 2000.
Ex North London, UK, gallery.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.11995-211017.

Cf. Higgins, R.A., Greek and Roman Jewellery, London, 1961; Ruseva-Slokoska, L., Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item 184, for type; for the inscription see Glare P.G.W., A Latin Dictionary, London, 1968-82, page 1,746/3; for the use of nicolo gemstones with inscription on Roman rings and of nicolo gemstones on the same typology of rings see Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, items 347, 420; similar finds are known in the collection of the British Museum (Higgings, 1961, p.190, no.3, pl.62E, 63D) and Mainz.

'Serviu[s]' is a second declension praenomen (Glare, P.G.W., A Latin Dictionary, London, 1968-82, page 1,746/3) apparently based on the noun 'servus' (servant, minister, office-holder). The name was in use in Consular and Imperial times, and was the patronym of important Roman Gens, like the Gens Servilia.

Slender hoop expanding to a broad bezel, inset sardonyx cloison intaglio depicting a grazing bull on a baseline. 7.58 grams, 25.56 mm overall, 17.84 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J 1/2, USA 5, Europe 9.32, Japan 9)

Acquired in London in 1994.
European private collection.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12067-211915.

Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 161, for type.

Composed of an angular hoop with sloping, fluted shoulders; raised lenticular bezel set with glass paste, raised Greek inscription 'EYTYKI', translating to 'good fortune', a wish for good luck for the bearer. 6.21 grams, 19.03 mm overall, 11.88 x 15.57 mm internal diameter (approximate size British D 1/2, USA 2, Europe 1.78, Japan 1)

From the late Alison Barker collection, 1970-1990.

Accompanied by a previous catalogue information slip.

Cf. Ruseva-Slokoska, L., Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item 207, for type.

The ring belongs to the type III, variant 2 of the Ruseva-Slokoska classification. They are characterised by a flat band widening towards the trapezium-shaped oblique shoulders, cut to resemble leaves, shaped with vertical grooves and hatches at the extremities. The augural inscription 'EYTYKI' was usual in the augural rings, given for a donative or in occasion of the passage from puberty to adolescence.

Bust and torso of an indigenous nobleman modelled in the round; with rounded facial features, the shoulder-length hair dressed in hanks and cut into tiers, centre-parted and framing the face; the eyes exaggerated, probably originally emphasised with sheet-silver detailing; the broad chest smooth with ring-and-dot nipples; a thick collar or torc sitting high on the collar-bone, with braided detailing and finished with a D-shaped pendant; each upper-arm supported by a barley-twist column with cup finial and stylised flames above; the centre supported by a rectangular block with incised herringbone linear pattern interspersed with pointillé pellets; the base broad and gently curved away from the figure, with a lattice of bilinear panels bearing groups of three ring-and-dot motifs, D-shaped loop to the forward edge flanked by smaller lobes; the reverse plain, the head hollow with remains of a thick loop at the lower edge of the hair; significant iron deposits to surface from its deposition environment; of provincial Roman workmanship. 461 grams, 13 cm

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

See Boucher, S. & Tassinari, S., Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine a Lyon: Bronzes Antiques I. Inscriptions, Statuaire, Vaisselle, Lyon, 1976.

Its construction with a central block flanked by two short pillars (i.e. leaving two slots) suggests that the piece may have been intended as a rein-guide for a chariot, whereby the leather or fabric straps would pass through the two apertures and, by their separation, be prevented from tangling. Bronze figural busts are known from Gallo-Roman contexts: they are usually female and interpreted as tutelae or protective tribal spirits (Boucher & Tassinari, 1976, items 62-4). The present example is evidently designed to impress the viewer with its portrayal of the 'noble barbarian' as a suitable conveyor of martial splendour (Boucher & Tassinari, 1976, item 321). The impressive figure recalls the famed statue 'The Dying Gaul' in the Capitoline Museum, Rome, showing a 'barbarian' warrior with a neck torc, thick hair and moustache, discarded weapons and shield carved on the ground and a carnyx trumpet between his legs. The statue is a copy of a Hellenistic original celebrating a Greek victory over the Galatians.

Modelled in the round, standing with right leg bent, right arm raised and left extended before the body; with thick tousled hair, exaggerated torc to the neck, jacket with incised vertical lines, tight-fitting trousers and ankle-boots. 53 grams total, 67 mm

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Cf. Durham, E., Metal Figurines in Roman Britain, vol. 2, Reading, 2010, pl.124; Caesar (translated by S. A. Handford) The Conquest of Gaul, (1982), (Penguin Classics).

The pose of the figure suggests that he is in the action of brandishing a weapon, or possibly holding the reins of a team of horses pulling a chariot. Caesar mentions the expert use of the war-chariot by the Britons (Conquest of Gaul, IV.33). The padded garment suggests a Celtic auxiliary in the Roman army.

With raised central boss and peripheral discs with red enamel alternating with openwork loops; the body with a double band of blue, white and red enamelling, separated by ropework bands; remains of pin hinge and catchplate to the reverse; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 61 grams total, 56 mm including stand

From a private New Jersey collection, 1960-1985.
with Artemis Gallery, Colorado, USA, 8 March 2016, no.45.
Private American collection, New York, USA.

Cf. Hattatt, R., Ancient and Romano-British Brooches, Sherborne, 1982, p.141 nos.126,129; Melchart, W., Antike Kostbarkeiten aus Osterreichischem privatbesitz, Wien, 1997, fig.43, for the type.

A similar brooch is preserved in the Colchester Museum, and similarly decorated brooch discs are visible in the British Museum and have been found in Chesterholm, Vindolanda and Chepstow. It is a Roman provincial type used by military personnel and their families.

Carved with comma-leaf detailing to the hair, a low brow over almond-shaped eyes, broad triangular nose and thick moustache obscuring the mouth; mounted on a custom-made stand. 7.3 kg total, 28.5 cm high including stand

Found Anglesey, Wales, 1978.
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Accompanied by a newspaper article on the find.

Cf. Jackson, S., Celtic and Other Stone Heads, Shipley, 1973, item 16.

The style of execution is rather more refined than for the majority of stone heads, and lacks the characteristic slit mouth. Same elements of the design are seen on the figure from Otley (Jackson, no.25) and especially that from Bradford-Heaton (no.16) which shares the prominent moustache.

Carved in the round with fleshy facial features, almond-shaped eyes and small pouting mouth; the hair modelled with hollowed curls above the brow; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.6 kg total, 17 cm high including stand

Found Cambridgeshire, UK.
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Cf. similar in the collection of the British Museum, London under accession number 1973,0327.3; cf. Graham, F., Hadrian's Wall in the days of the Romans, Newcastle, 1984, pp.177-178; Clayton, P., A Companion to Roman Britain, Oxford, 1980, p.71, for similar style of sculptures; cf. Harley, E., Roman Life at the Yorkshire Museum, York, 1985, p.17, and De La Bédoyère, G., Roman Towns in Britain, London, 1993, p.118 (for similar hairstyle).

These kind of sculptures represented people or divinities of the Roman Britannia. They are found in several civilian tombstones, characterised by provincial style, that was enhanced by colouring which is absent today. The image here represented is a domina (a high-status middle-aged woman) in a typical hairstyle of 2nd-3rd century A.D. (Graham, 1984, p.222). In these provincial artworks the strong influence of the Celtic art is evident, especially in the eyes and hair of the sculpture.

With everted rim and decorative geometric band to the shoulder. 1.98 kg, 28 cm wide

Found Upchurch Marshes, Kent, UK, in the 1980s.
Ex Winter Collection, Kent, UK.

See Pollard, R. J., The Roman Pottery of Kent, 1988.

The Roman pottery kilns on what are now the tidal marshes at Upchurch, Kent, are justly famed as a thriving pottery production area with many kiln and related sites. The London clay in this area is of fine quality and was thus suitable for pottery making. With the rise in the sea level, the area is now mostly inundated and, as tidal forces erode the silts, pottery (often 'seconds'), is sometimes exposed. The soft muds and general inaccessibility of the area make collection difficult.

Cuboid with enamel-filled spots disposed 1:6, 2:5, 3:4. 9 grams, 10.7 mm

Found at Gloucester, UK.
Ex N. Du Quesne Bird collection.
From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, UK, collection no.23.

Accompanied by a Colin Narbeth catalogue identification card.

Cuboid die with five sides bearing incised symbols: ring-and-dot (or theta Θ), 'IV' (for 'four'), saltire (or 'X' for 'ten'), frond with four spurs to each side, similar with one spur to each side. 4.5 grams, 8.7 mm

Found by the Roman fort at Caister, east of Norwich, Norfolk, UK, prior to 1998.
Acquired from Richard Gladdle, 9th June 1998.
From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, UK, collection no.42.

Accompanied by a Colin Narbeth catalogue identification card.
Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Celtic & Roman Artefacts book pages where this object is published.

Cf. Spasić Durić, D., Град Виминацијум-The city of Viminacium, (in Serbian), Pozarevac, 2015, fig.166, for similar.

Mills, N., Celtic & Roman Artefacts, Witham, 2000, p.114, item no.RB357.

The conventional Roman dice were made in bone or lead, with dots representing numbers from 1 to 6. Roman dice from the Romano-British settlements are often poorly made and often had opposite sides that do not add up to 7. This dice is unique in the panorama of the Romano-British dice, because the symbols probably represent an alternative to the simple numerical dimples which appear on most dices.