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LOT 0104
Colossal Roman Head of Diana
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
28 3/8 in. (72 cm high including stand).
A colossal architectural limestone head of the goddess Diana (Greek Artemis) with elegant features, sensual lips and deep eyes; detailed treatment of the hairstyle in transverse braids across the brow, laurel wreath with two rows of leaves resting above the forehead; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx private Belgian collection.
with Madame Andree Mace collection.
English private collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Prof. Neritan Ceka.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11625-199748.
See Bartman, E., Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment in American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 105, No. 1 (Jan 2001), pp.1-25, for discussion of Roman hairstyling in its social context; Fischer-Hansen, T. & Poulsen, B. (eds.), From Artemis to Diana: the goddess of man and beast. Collegium Hyperboreum and Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen, 2009.
FootnotesThe upper part of the head, cut horizontally, creates a semi-circular surface, on which the rest of the hair, or an architectonic capital, may have been mounted. A T-shaped indentation on that surface served to secure that attachment. The back of the head, cut perpendicularly, proves that the head was made to repose on an architectural surface. The fragmentary preservation of the neck does not allow a clear determination, whether we are dealing with the head of a caryatid, i.e. the head of a sculpture in the function of a pilaster, or whether the colossal head was an architectural stone corbel, i.e. an architectural element that was placed for the support of the sima of a building of great size.
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LOT 0104
Colossal Roman Head of Diana
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000€17,400 - 23,200 (for guidance only)$20,250 - 27,000 (for guidance only)
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'The Castleford Military Garrison' Romano-British 'Regio Lagitiensis' Inscribed Brooch
Late 2nd-early 3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,940
The best example of only three examples of this type known, a copper-alloy knee brooch composed of a rectangular-section body, spring pin within bow plate and remains of catchplate to reverse; both sides of the body with two panels of Latin lettering moulded in relief: 'FIBUL[A] EX REG LAGITIENSE', translating to 'Brooch from the Regio Lagitiensis' (Roman Castleford); remains of blue glass enamelling to the recessed fields. 11 grams, 30 mm wide
Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Wickham Market, Suffolk, UK, on 24th September 2022. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report with record number: SF-F57791. Accompanied by a copy of an article on Castleford Vicus and a similar brooch found in the Alford area of Lincolnshire, UK.
Castleford is known to have been a regiones, an administrative centre for lands owned directly by the Emperor. Other known regiones in Britain were Bath, Carlisle and Ribchester. Regiones appear to have been administered by military officers of centurion rank. Crucially for our item, Castleford’s status as one of the regiones is known from the separate finds of two metal brooches with the same inscriptions discovered by metal detectorists; one from North Lincolnshire, the other from an unknown find-spot, now our third example, found in Suffolk. The third brooch, offered for sale here, is the best known example of the Castleford (Lagentium) vicus brooch, and the only complete example of the three known to exist. These brooches are seemingly unique amongst Roman artefacts in incorporating the name of their place of production into their decorative scheme. A vicus is the civilian settlement located outside the Roman fort. The triangular-section brooch body possibly alludes to the pitched and tiled roof of a military building. Roman Castleford began life in circa 71 A.D. as a fort constructed as part of the conquest of northern England. The garrison attracted local traders and a small settlement grew nearby. Excavation of this settlement suggests that the inhabitants were making and repairing military equipment for the soldiers, and it is likely that these workshops continued to profit when the fort was abandoned around 100 A.D; Castleford is unusual in this respect, since the Roman army typically demolished their forts once the area had been pacified, at which point, any associated settlements usually disappeared too. At Castleford in contrast, the town remained and continued to prosper, likely because of its port location which facilitated trade with the wider Empire, together with its location on the main road between London and York. -
Roman Brooch Collection
Mainly 2nd century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
A mixed group of bronze plate brooches including disc-with-lugs, equal-ended and other types. 25 grams total, 28-46 mm
Acquired in the late 1990s-2000. Property of an East London gentleman. -
Roman Silver Openwork Lunar Pendant
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
A silver lunula pendant composed of a crescentic body straddled by a slender silver wire X-motif embellished with granules; ribbed suspension loop. 3.77 grams, 29 mm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
