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Details
LOT 1325
Byzantine Bronze Punch with Menorah and Hebrew Inscription
CIRCA 5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (18.8 grams, 31 mm).
Columnar stem with conical base extending to a square-section shank.
Provenance
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
Literature
Cf. Friedenberg, D.M., ‘The Evolution and Uses of Jewish Byzantine Stamp Seals’, in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, vol. 52/53, 1994/1995, pp.16ff., nos. 19-21.
Footnotes
Stamping in antiquity and in the Roman Empire was under strict regulations, and it was not limited to food and liquid containers. Bricks and tiles used in construction were impressed with the names of magistrates, workshops, estate owners from whom the material came, and the names of individual makers. Among the myriad Late Roman stamps, a great number were to mark bread or containers holding flour and other foods, as well as a variety of liquids such as wine, oil, fish and fruits preserved in sauces, medical ointments, and even water. It is interesting to note as the Jewish symbols here engraved are very stylised: as mentioned by various scholars, the Jewish representations of shofar and lulav on this category of stamps degenerated in quality in Late Antiquity, and this is why they are variously dated between the 4th and the 7th century.
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LOT 1325
Byzantine Bronze Punch with Menorah and Hebrew Inscription
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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