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Details
LOT 0457
Egyptian Limestone Floral Inlay Group
ROMAN PERIOD, 30 B.C.-323 A.D. OR EARLIER
1/8 - 3/4 in. (60 grams total, 1-21 mm).
Group of discoid inlay plaques or gaming counters, crinoids with cinquefoil motif; some fragmentary. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From a central London ADA dealership, 1980-1990.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Literature
Cf. similar disc in shape of rosette in MET, accession no. 35.1.131.
Footnotes
Flowers were symbolic of rebirth due to the daily reopening of their petals after nightfall. As a result, they were widely used in domestic settings, religious and funerary contexts, and as adornments. Similar rosette discs, like those recovered from the Ramesside Period palace at Qantir, were used as decorative elements in royal palaces.
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