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LOT 2554
Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut Green Porphyry Strip Group
1 3/4 - 6 in. (225 grams total, 4.4-15.1 cm).
Cut and polished sections, mined in Greece, cut and polished on both sides, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times. [7, No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Mineral Imports, London, UK.
Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.
Also known as Lapis Lacedaemonius and Porfido Verde Antico, a type of green porphyry quarried in Greece. Spartan basalt is a form of andesite or volcanic rock known today only from a single source in the village of Krokees on the Peloponnese in Greece. In addition, ancient sources mention a quarry of Lapis Lacedaemonius in Taygetus.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 2554
Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut Green Porphyry Strip Group
Estimate £80 - 100€93 - 116 (for guidance only)$108 - 135 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
-
Manganese Dendrite Landscape Plaque Group
Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising three limestone plaques, each with dendritic inclusions resembling ferns and branching vegetation. 245 grams total, 6.4 x 4.7 - 11.2 x 6.5 cm
Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK. -
Two Large Cut and Polished Slabs of Rare Vintage Blue John Fluorite
Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Two irregular slabs showing typical purple, blue and white banding. 935 grams total, 25.1-25.6 cm
From the UK. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK. -
Large Campo Del Cielo Meteorite
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
A nickel-iron meteorite (IAB). 90.1 grams, 43 mm
From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.
A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8-ton Gancedo and 28.8-ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed the local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal, which was assumed to be an iron mine, and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774, Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 1990, it became protected by law.
