Loading, please wait...
LOT 0127
Large Roman Cut Glass Beaker
4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
7 1/4 in. (289 grams, 18.5 cm).
A beaker or lamp with thick conical body and pontil base, five horizontal grooves cut around the body; traces of iridescence.
ProvenanceDr Jutaro Kawabe, Nagoya, Japan, his collection formed in the 1960s-1970s.
with Hoshigaoka Gallery until the late 1990s.
Private collection, London, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12830-241334.
Cf. Auth, H.S., Ancient Glass at the Newark Museum, New Jersey, 1976, items 200 and 201; Whitehouse, D., Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass: Volume Three, New York, 2003, item 1180; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, item 74.51.310.
FootnotesConical vessels of this form were either used as a lamp or a beaker; notably during the late imperial period in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and in the early Migration period. Deep cuts on this piece suggest it was used with suspension chains or ropes, making it highly likely that this example was used as a lamp.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0127
Large Roman Cut Glass Beaker
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
-
Roman Mosaic Glass Bead
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Barrel-shaped type with weathered surface. 11.9 grams, 26 mm
Acquired in London or Japan, early 1980s. Property of a London, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Grape Vines
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Mould-made, the round handle absent, deep body, broad outward-sloping shoulder with grapes and vine decorations, separated from concave discus by two thin circular ridges with a groove between, central filling-hole, short round-tipped nozzle with two volutes on flat space between the discus edge and wick-hole, base marked by three circular grooves. 58 grams, 94 mm
From the collection of Mr W.A. Stewart, Director of School of Arts and Crafts, Cairo, 1919-1929. Acquired Christie's, London, Antiquities, Works of Art and Important Renaissance Bronzes, Plaquettes and Limoges Enamels, 8 July 1981, no.126 (part). From a private Wiltshire, UK, collection. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Christie's catalogue page.
The lamp belongs to the Loeschke type VIII, eastern variants. These lamps appeared in the second half of the 1st century but were long-lived, for a number have been found in a 3rd century A.D. context in the necropolis of Beth Shearim. Whether this decor of typical double volutes was devised by lamp makers in Asia Minor or Attica, and who influenced whom, is not yet possible to determine. But it is worth signalling the use of this decor as anchored in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. -
Roman Marble Gryphon Trapezophoros Section
Circa 1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
Carved in the round, S-curved in profile with scale detailing and grimacing gryphon's face; ledge to rear of head to support a tabletop. 19.56 kg, 35 cm
Acquired from Robert Evans, who in turn acquired from Sir Arthur Evans of the Ashmolean Museum. From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman.
