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Details
LOT 1553
Iron Age Celtic Bronze Strap Junction with Animal Face
1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (20.1 grams, 44 mm).
Modelled in the half-round, stylized features, possibly a lion.
Provenance
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
Literature
Cf. similar examples in PAS BERK-A940D9, LON-C12241, DOR-54D2DB, NARC-565894, HAMP2961, HAMP-7794C4, and Bushe-Fox, First report on the excavation of the Roman fort at Richborough, Kent, London, 1926, p.47, plate XV, no.29, for similar harness fittings with anthropomorfic or animal head.
Footnotes
Such strap dividers are thought to date to the late Iron Age, to the late 1st century BC or early 1st century AD. They were used from Celts and Romans (or from the Celt Auxiliaries inside the Roman Army) for horse harness and also by the Essedarii (chariot fighters of Celtic origins) for the horses of their chariots in the Roman Circuses.
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Acquired in the early 1980s. with Edward Smith, USA. From the collection of a Connecticut, USA, collector. with TimeLine Auctions, 23 May 2017, no.251. Private American collection, New York, USA. 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 search certificate number no.11994-210999.
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